Code: Crisis
by Vederick
Summary: X.A.N.A returns and launches a deadly attack on the city. New alliances are formed - But as the violent entity's origins are revealed it becomes clear that getting rid of him won't be a easy as last time. Rated T for violence and some strong language
1. Mic Check

C o d e - C r I s I s

Episode 1

**M I C – C H E C K**

* * *

_It's getting late_, thought Jeremy. Perhaps Aelita had trouble with the bus schedule; it wouldn't be the first time. Digitally she was several decades his senior, but the real world was still, in many ways, a mystery to her. If she had gotten lost, he'd try not to rub it in. As time went on he began to worry. He would always worry. Every time they had a date it would go through the same cycle: he'd have an idea, she'd have a idea, he'd want to go out together while she always wanted to 'catch up later'. She was very 'cool' now. It'd been 3 years since they'd shut down X.A.N.A, and after what it had cost them Jeremy wanted nothing more then for Aelita to be happy, any way she wanted to be.

But still, he'd worry.

The sun had started to go down. Jeremy sighed, it must have been at _least_ an hour by now. She had said she'd be with 'friends'. Not their friends, of course, _her_ friends. They seemed nice enough, but like Sissy they considered Jeremy and the others a bit 'odd'… which reminded him, he hadn't seen Odd in while.

His watch beeped. A timer he'd set had gone off, but he'd been so busy worrying he couldn't remember what he'd set it for. Then he noticed the time.

"What on earth…?" he whispered. Time always seemed to drag on whenever he was waiting on Aelita, but in fact not much time had passed at all, maybe half an hour. The sun _was_ low, but not low enough. The light he was looking at; the burnt red glow emanating from the horizon that he _thought _was the sun setting was in fact the city itself. It was getting dark, but only because thick clouds had passed in front of the real sun, making the strange glow more apparent with each passing minute. But he didn't panic, Jeremy was never exactly on the 'pulse of the community', so to speak. Whether it was Mardi Gras, Spring Break or just a movie premiere, he'd be the last to know, as usual. Chances were Aelita was right in the center of it, living it up. She'd changed since they had abandoned the factory.

At first she was sullen, deeply depressed about Franz Hopper – her father who, after so many years lost in the Digital Sea, appeared at the end of their war to sacrifice himself to defeat X.A.N.A. For many days after she wouldn't leave Hermitage - her father's old house - and every time Jeremy and the others would stop by they would hear her crying behind locked doors. At school she was silent, barely ate, and soon went from a straight-A celebrity to white noise. She avoided everyone, even Jeremy.

Then one day she changed. She woke up happy and eager, surprising everyone with hugs, giggles, and kisses (catching Jeremy particularly off-guard). In no time she was commanding attention from teachers all over school, but still keeping her grades high and profile just low enough to keep away unwanted attention. After all, it took the combined efforts of the entire team - with a healthy dose of her and Jeremy's programming skills - to maintain Aelita's identity. They didn't want too much investigation. So her grades were good, but not honor roll or Valedictorian good; she made sure never to get in trouble, so there was rarely need for a parent-teacher conference either. But sometimes the presence of a relative was non-negotiable, fortunately they lucked out with 'Uncle Jean'.

Jean Aimé was a derelict who claimed to have been an actor,and this may have been true since he was actually quite good at playing his role (when he was sober). He was tall and a bit wiry, but looked quite good when he cleaned up. Yumi provided him with some of her father's old suits. They hung off him a bit but he was able to pull it off with his height. He was very generous, asking for only the occasional meal in return for his performances, and he slept in the factory, upstairs on one of Odd's old mattresses. They didn't worry about the computer, they'd sealed it off well, and when Jean wandered it was usually off to some odd job in town…

Jeremy was letting his mind wander again. He checked his watch, only another 15 minutes had passed, but still…he studied the city's glow. Now there seemed to be more noise coming from it; a parade perhaps? He shook his head and tapped his cell-phone tentatively. Should he give her a call? The 'new' Aelita didn't like calls, and usually had her phone off anyway. He sighed, frustrated. He didn't know why she would keep doing this. Maybe he just bored her. Maybe the whole team bored her now, or maybe they just reminded her too much of that she'd lost. Whatever the case, Jeremy was sure she wasn't coming, and he'd been working on an old program, just out of curiosity, that could…

!!….RING…!!

His phone went off - and that was putting it lightly. Usually he kept it on a gentle vibration setting (spending most his time in libraries), but somehow it'd been switched to the maximum setting – full volume and a shake that almost rattled him out his chair. He quickly pulled it out and checked it, no name, and he didn't recognize the number. '968-5673', that was very curious. It wasn't even from the same country, but who knows where telemarketers are being outsourced from these days? He dismissed it, reset the ring volume and vibration, and cancelled the call. He'd only had some breadsticks and soda, but still decided to leave a tip. Just as he was about to get up, the phone rang again, this time sending him feet-over-head backwards in his chair - it was back at full power, again! A few tables over were two girls, one with a headset. They chuckled a little but were polite enough not to stare or point. Jeremy blushed as her fumbled back into his seat and pulled out his phone again. It was the same number: 968-5673. A very insistent salesman. Muttering fake-swears, Jeremy decided to take the call, even if it just meant saying 'no thank you' to an answering machine; but when he pressed the button the phone turned off.

"What the…" he started, then remembered the girls sitting not 8 feet away "…doodle?" he finished. They laughed again, a bit louder this time, but hushed quickly, pretending to read their menus. He thought about turning it back on, maybe to hear from Aelita. But, angered by her tardiness and the annoying caller, he decided he had better just leave it off. Feeling very defeated, he picked up the stray coins that had escaped during his crash and prepared to leave. Then, from the horizon, a loud screech echoed towards the plaza. It sounded like tires, and a loud crash soon followed it. Jeremy had heard accidents before, and hoped no one was hurt, but otherwise wasn't much shaken. Then there was another.

And another, and another.

Coming from red glow, mixed in the screeching of tires and the faint smell of burn rubber, were loud, angry shouts, yells, and then screams. Near him people were stopping in the streets, cars and all, getting out to look and listen to the spectacle in the distance. Jeremy noticed the cars wouldn't pass the lights headed towards the glow; they were afraid. Even more disconcerting was the fact that there were no cars on the other sides of any of the intersections; no one was coming from the direction of the glow, no people, no cars, nothing. And then, against all reason, his phone rang again, maximum power.

NOW he was worried.

He slowly reached for his phone when all of a sudden another rang: it belonged to one of the girls next him. She picked up and checked it. "968…" he heard her say; the same number as his. Then the girl's friend, the one wearing a headset, also had her phone ring. She picked it up and said she'd received the same call. From the streets he heard more phones start to ring. Not just more, ALL of them. Desk phones in stores and restaurants, cell phones, pay phones, car phones, even emergency phones - EVERYTHING was going off at once. And then they started to glow – bright red, like the city. His phone rang again, even from inside his coat pocket he see the glow. The shake rattled his bones all the way into his skull. He took it out. Of course, it was the same number: 968-5673. It echoed in his mind. It must mean something, he thought. He decided the simple thing to would be to check the numbers themselves, see if they spelled something. Fortunately he could still access the web on his laptop, and checked a bookmark for a site that did just that (he had embarrassing amount of free time these days). He typed in the numbers and the website compiled a list of what they could mean. As he scrolled through the list he quickly regretted his site choice; none of them made sense! He thought the site's program would have enough sense to filter out the gibberish answers, so he closed the page and decided to do it himself. He was a genius after all.

The sound of phones was almost deafening, people were turning them off and even throwing them away in panic, but the noise didn't stop. Meanwhile Jeremy had gotten out some pen and paper to deduce the number's meaning for himself. Nine stood for W, X, Y and Z. All consonants, fair enough, Z and X were unlikely and it would be a three letter word and would most likely fit together with the second world to form a message. Six was M-N-O, and eight was T-U-V, the next letter had to be a vowel, and since W-O-T, V, U weren't words, he went with a 'Y' instead. Y-O-U was the first word, 'you', made sense, now for the second. Five is J-K-L, it was a four-letter word and probably a verb or some action. Once again he had three consonants, and the second number was six, meaning 'O' was going to be his vowel again. Okay, so 'Y-o-u L-o…".

He didn't even have to finish.

Third letter would be 's', the forth letter 'e'. His heart sank into his stomach. It had been three years, THREE YEARS. He almost could have cried. _It can't be_, he thought. _It just can't be_. But it was, of course it was. He wished it were a hoax, the cyber-prank to end all cyber-pranks. Hell, he would've settled for the Y2K bug. His phone rang again, but unlike the others this one was quiet, and slow, almost taunting. He knew Jeremy HAD figured it out, that he knew exactly what he'd see if he opened his phone. So he did, he opened his phone, and he wasn't disappointed.

He was terrified.

The sound of the phones died out. They were still ringing, of course, but to Jeremy his entire world had just gone black. All he could hear was his heartbeat, all he could see was the phone - all he could see was the eye, ITS eye. X.A.N.A's eye.

He was sweating, his hands shaking. The cell felt like a bar of wet soap in his hands and he dropped it as easily. He backed away, falling back into his chair. He couldn't hold back anymore, the tears were coming now. He buried his face in his hands, then he heard a click. Over to his left, of the girls have opened her cell phone, like him, frustrated with the mysterious signal. She saw the eye and swore at it - it was meaningless to her after all. Her friend told her to ignore it, saying it was 'just some joke', but the girl didn't care. She put the phone up to her ear and pressed the answer button. Even if Jeremy could have moved fast enough, there was nothing he could have done.

_It was as if a choir of banshees shrouded in bats had all just gotten a hot poker in the backside_, Jeremy would hear Odd later describe it. Windows cracked and collapsed, glass cups and pitchers exploded, fish-tanks, street-lights, everything that wasn't stone or steel shook apart, even the people. The sound wasn't just loud, it was painful. Jeremy shredded a napkin to bits small enough to stuff in his ears and clasped his hands to the side of his head. Even then the sound still pierced through. It was breathtaking, as if it were coming from everywhere, from inside his own head trying to break out. His blood and bones were shaking like they were in a blender, even his nails felt like they would shatter. He had his eyes shut tight, and it was a good thing too; his glasses didn't last very long. He shook his head to get the pieces off of his eyelids, and thanked God he never decided to go with contacts. The pain, the sheer intensity of the sound never lulled, never reached a peak you could adjust to, it only increased. He knew he had to get out of it soon or it would kill him, like the girls…The one who answered the call had been writhing on the floor in agony, her phone had literally exploded into her ear and she was bleeding profusely from the head. The other, who'd been waring the earpiece, didn't move at all.

From the instant the sound began she'd been frozen, mouth agape, eyes wide. The tears that flowed from her open eyes soon turning into trickles of blood that ran down her face and from her ears. He hated himself for thinking it, but Jeremy actually hoped she wasn't still alive. Time was running out, he had to think! Where was he right now? Some restaurant, outside at a shaded table…restaurant…he needed to find a way to seal as much sound off as possible…seal…freezer! They had to have a freezer inside! He started towards the inside, but stopped by the girls. He'd already decided the headphones wearer was dead - she'd collapsed onto the table and thick pool of blood was spreading. No one could survive that much blood loss from the head. The other girl, who'd fallen to the ground, wasn't moving, or breathing. He was worried about taking time to check, but if she was still alive… Taking a few deep breaths to brace himself, he removed his hands from his ears and got down to check for a pulse. He'd underestimated just how much of the sound he'd really been blocking out, but he held on. It turned out she was breathing, very labored, and her pulse was weak. Even more difficult was that she was at least 6 years older than he was and Jeremy hadn't grown much in height in the last few years. But working out with Odd and Ulrich had much improved his frame. Grabbing her tightly under the arms he started to drag her towards the kitchen.

The restaurant had thick concrete walls which dampened the sound, but not by much. Jeremy felt a moistness in his ears he was worried was blood, but a quick check revealed as just sweat. Weaving the girl through the tables wasn't easy - they were placed much closer together inside than out, and while she wasn't too much taller than Jeremy, her girth more than made up for it. Finally they made into the kitchen. The hum of the machines didn't do much to dampen the sound, but Jeremy hoped the freezer would be better; he doubted he could survive dragging the girl through the streets to another safe spot, assuming there was one. It seemed all the chefs had cells phones they couldn't help but answer. There were several bodies around the kitchen, but there was no time to check them now – he was starting to get lighted headed. They made it to the freezer door and Jeremy opened it. He was welcomed by a cool refreshing breeze, and the loud turbulent whirs of the fans did well to cover the sounds. He checked the temperature and set a timer; he didn't know how long X.A.N.A would keep this up, but he didn't want to freeze to death either. He set it to turn off automatically after an hour, of course if it were somehow connected to the internet and X.A.N.A hacked it he could seal them in kill them just as easily. But there was no more time, _just no…more…time._

He shook his head to clear it, but it felt like his brain was floating in blood and knocking against his skull. He hoped to God it wasn't actually doing that, and he finished setting the timer. He dragged the girl inside and tried to set it up so her bare arms wouldn't touch the cold metal surfaces directly, leaning her against sacks and boxes. His whole body felt heavy now, but he almost blocked out the sound entirely, he turned and went back to close the door…and his heart sank again. There, across the room on the floor, was a chef, young, bleeding from his nose and ears, desperately crawling for the exit. He didn't know it would only get worse outside, and Jeremy wanted to stop him, but didn't know if he could make it while he felt so weak. If the cook opened the door before he could reach him the sound would kill them both, and the girl wouldn't be much safer with the freezer door still open. He knew that the cook hadn't seen them, and odds were he'd gone deaf or he'd have heard them come in the first place. Jeremy could've just shut the freezer, shut it and saved himself and the girl.

"Stop!" he shouted. It'd been three years since he'd been a hero, but he wasn't out of practice yet. The cook wasn't deaf, but may have been unconscious when Jeremy and the girl had entered. He turned to see Jeremy at the freezer and knew what they were doing, slowly he turned his body and started making his way towards them. But he was so slow - it was as if he couldn't use his legs, and Jeremy was having a tough time holding on himself. He'd lost his glasses so things were already blurry, and he knew he was starting to black out. Time was fast escaping them all. Taking a chance, Jeremy left the freezer and made his way as quickly as he could towards the cook, every step sending waves of pain through his body. He reached him and tried as best he could to bring him to his feet, but at this point he was so weak the chef felt three times heavier than the girl did. He breathed steadily and deep; he couldn't fail now. Step by step the pair made their way towards the freezer, the chef's head was hung low as he muttered prayers in Italian.

Jeremy tried to keep his eyes on the prize, but the prize's door was beginning to slide shut. He knew it would seal tightly, he remember how much effort it took to open the first time, and now he was so much weaker, carrying the cook, he didn't know if he'd have the strength to do it again. He tried to increase his pace, but the freezer door, carried only by the hot air rushing into the freezer cared nothing for his efforts. It would close, and he would just have to hope he and the chef could survive reduced, but hardly negated death pulse from in the kitchen.

That was, until he saw the shoe.

The girl's shoe. He hadn't left her near the door, she must've taken it off – taken off her shoe and kicked it into the arc of the closing door. Her aim was good, too; it landed in just the right spot as the door hit it with a satisfyingly anticlimactic 'pah'. Much relieved, the two finished their way to the freezer where, inside, the girl sat, awake and alive, with her other shoe at the ready, just in case.

"Thank you…" he whispered, sliding the cook onto some bags and the collapsing onto the floor himself. He rested his face on his arms, and with his last ounce of strength kicked the shoe out the door, sealing them in. He heard the beep of the timer activating, the hum of the fans and the compressor kicking in to replace the lost cold, but what he did not hear was X.A.N.A's cry, his sickening, mind-slaying victory shriek.

"You Lose."

After all their battles, gains and losses on both sides, that was all X.A.N.A had left to say to them. It wasn't said with any added malice, or ill will, no evil laughter (he was, after all, just a computer). It was just supposed to be a cold, unassailable fact.

You Lose.

But they hadn't lost.

There's a solution to every crisis and Jeremy knew he'd find it, just as he knew without a shadow of doubt that Ulrich, Odd, Yumi and Aelita would all be alive and waiting when he got out. If this didn't beat _him_, there was no way it was beating _them_. They were the fighters, this was their war.

And it was just getting started.

* * *

_Thank you for reading Code: Crisis - episode one - "Mic – Check", Please leave a Review!  
_

**Next episode: "The - Reunion"**


	2. The Reunion

C o d e - C r I s I s

Episode 2

T H E – R E U N I O N

"Again! HYAH!" shouted the Sensei.

Ken Masaru was a firm-but-fair karate instructor. He always liked to scare new students with the classic 'drill sergeant' persona – it helped to scare anyone who wasn't serious about the martial arts. With this batch, it seemed to be almost everyone in the neighborhood besides Ulrich Stern. Ken stood at the front of the dojo, calling out katas for his class to perform. There weren't many of them today. Just Ulrich, Ken's own son, Saburo, and about a handful of others. Months ago the room would've been full of students standing almost shoulder to shoulder, but since the sessions started many wannabes had been weeded out through Ken's rigorous training. The rest were hospitalized.

The attack had taken a heavy toll.

Jeremy had told the group all about his experience, and of X.A.N.A's return. None of them wanted to believe, none less so than Aelita. Once again she became harder to find, day by day. Odd was the most sarcastic, using witty lines and just plain awful jokes to cover his nervousness and anger. Yumi asked the most questions, but at the time Jeremy couldn't think of any answers to give her. As for Ulrich…

He came to the dojo.

From day one he rivaled Saburo, the class's best, in skill. He lost many of their first matches together, but Saburo was always the worse for wear afterwards. In just a few weeks they were almost completely matched, though Saburo maintained a slight advantage in hand-to-hand, while Ulrich felt naked without a training sword…or two. It was only friendly competition; Ulrich and Saburo had become close friends in a short time. Ulrich would talk about his friends, who were always like his family, while Saburo would rant on about his older brothers...until three days ago. The government tried to call it a 'severe systems error' due to 'improperly regulated operation settings'. In other words, you know that loud 'beep' your computer makes when it's messed up? They said it was one of those. Naturally only the most naïve bought into that.

No one wanted to believe cyber-terrorists had stopped tagging their porn with spyware and had started becoming actual threats to society—and technically they hadn't. No one knew what had really happened, and if they did they weren't going to let the public know. The gang had never learned as much as they'd wanted to about Project Carthage, the anti-communications weapon designed (and destroyed) by Franz Hopper and X.A.N.A—itself another, not-well-thought-out creation by the good doctor. Jeremy had closed the investigation after Hopper's death so as not to distress Aelita, who also wanted to close the book, but Ulrich always remained curious. He never stopped wanting answers: to Carthage, to X.A.N.A, to Lyoko, to Waldo Schaeffer – Hopper's true identity. He'd apparently been a teacher at Kadic over a decade ago, but other than that he'd been practically a ghost before and after his disappearance.

Why did he make Carthage to begin with? Why make X.A.N.A, such a powerful computer, to do what could've been accomplished with a delete button? Everyone else seemed fine not knowing, but for months afterwards Ulrich did all he could to learn the truth—but he was no Jeremy. He didn't know where to start, which sites to check, which books to read or which leads to follow. When 'Waldo Schaeffer' and 'Franz Hopper' didn't turn anything up in the first Google search he almost called it quits then and there. For months he hit dead end after dead end, and after almost a year of searching he was closer to finding the true inventor of the Pop-Tart than the inventor of Project Carthage. When he got the news of X.A.N.A, he wasn't sure how to feel. He was sad for the injured, angered for the innocent lives lost, but one thing he wasn't, was surprised.

It was just too easy.

X.A.N.A wasn't his enemy, he was THE enemy. Whether or not X.A.N.A was allowed to succeed would've determined the fate of the entire human race. And the entire time, all it had taken to destroy him was a short trip down the lift and a sharp tug on a lever? No way, Ulrich thought. X.A.N.A was…brilliant. Each return trip doubled his power, his intelligence, and—seemingly—his ambitions. He certainly wasn't oblivious to his own weaknesses, otherwise he wouldn't have tagged Aelita with his virus to buy time. And It must've been to buy time; he must've known Jeremy wouldn't rest until he found a cure—that Jeremy WOULD find a cure. And he did. So what then? X.A.N.A followed up with another plan: the Replikas. Now he was virtually everywhere, literally speaking, and they had to scour the net to battle him piece by piece. If Jeremy hadn't come up with the multi-system agent it would've been X.A.N.A's ultimate victory, after the advent of the Colossus made battles in Lyoko fall decidedly in his favor. But, with Hopper's help, they succeeded – or so they thought.

Ken finished a quick kata before returning to his resting position.

"Free time." he said. "I need to make some calls." His voice was very low. No one said anything. They just bowed respectfully as he left. Ulrich, and likely the other students, well knew he still making arrangements for the funeral of his two oldest sons. For some time they all just stood there, waiting for his return, but after a minute or so they had mostly relaxed, except Saburo. Ulrich hadn't talked to his friend outside of basic greeting since the 'Shriek', as the media had called it. He was never much for big emotional talks; he had his own solution.

"Saburo, come at me."

Saburo stared, not surprised much at what he asked; he and Ulrich would spar all the time, but the timing…

"Come on," he said "basic rules: first one down STAYS down." Saburo couldn't help it: he laughed, and stepped into position, ready to fight. He had his fists forward, tightly clenched, and one foot in front of the other. Ulrich took a rooted stance: a more defensive posture. Usually HE was the attacker, but today he was trying to get Saburo to blow off some stress, and that he did. With a loud kiai, Saburo charged at him. The other students quickly came to watch—Ulrich and Saburo always had the best fights, friendly or not. Saburo started with a strong right— wasted energy, as Ulrich simply stepped back and swatted it away. Saburo didn't waste time, though. He followed through with a fast roundhouse kick from the left, but Ulrich ducked under it, taking a stance behind Saburo. He didn't turn. Instead, Saburo came with his right leg in a strong back kick—Ulrich side-stepped to avoid it and almost got decked by the lightning fast punch Saburo came with after. And he kept coming. After the punch, Saburo pursued Ulrich across the room with a series of spinning kicks, high and low punches and attempted grabs. All the while, Ulrich would dodge, deflect, or catch the attacks to throw their energy into space. He tried to grab Saburo a few times, but his friend proved to fast for an easy takedown, so he decided to go on the offensive.

After ducking a backhanded punch, Ulrich thrust forward sending his flat palm into the base of Saburo's spine. In the Japanese boy's current position, Ulrich's attack threw him off balance and almost sent him falling on his face. While he was disoriented, Ulrich then followed with a strong right roundhouse of his own—but Saburo got his footing quickly and grabbed it at it's peak, pulling it down to his abdomen. With a quick grin and a wink he thrust all the weight back at Ulrich, expecting to send him flat on his back, but Ulrich was no slouch, he brought up his other leg, catching Saburo by surprise and causing him to loosen his grip. Pulling his leg free Ulrich landed on his hands and flipped backwards onto his feet, ready for Saburo's next move. They both smiled. They loved their awesome fights as much as the cheering class.

"Saburo!" called Ken. The two weren't sure how long Saburo's father had been there, but he didn't look like he disapproved. He said a few words in Japanese, and Saburo nodded in response. Ulrich had been learning Japanese from Yumi in the past few months, but couldn't catch much other than 'grandparents' and 'arrival'. Most likely for the funeral, he thought

"I have to go," said Saburo. "Thanks, Ulrich. You rock." The two met fists, and Saburo left with his father. The class always ended with free time, and they all started to pack their things. Ulrich would leave last. He was very close to Saburo and his family—to the point where he would close the dojo if they were ever in a hurry. It wasn't long before he was alone, locking the registers and file cabinets and checking the deadbolts on all the doors. As he locked the last one, he heard a buzzing from his jacket. His cell-phone was ringing.

He and the gang had talked about it beforehand. At this point the response wasn't fear or even caution, it was straight up commando. He quickly shredded a paper towel and stuffed his ears. He rolled over the counter and made his way to the lockers where he found the special ear-muffs Jeremy had ordered for all of them. No radio or any other sort of wireless connection. They couldn't even be plugged in—they were just an exceptional pair of sound-blockers. He put them on tightly. Nearly every sound he'd heard before: cars, passersby, the air-conditioning—all vanished. Jeremy got his money's worth. He made his way back into the main area where is jacket still lay and took it, swiftly, into the restroom. There was no mirror or any other glass, just a toilet and a sink. Ulrich gingerly took out the phone.

It had no cover, so he sure not to press any buttons that might answer the call accidentally. As he pulled it from the chest pocket it appeared as if a red glow was coming from the screen, he moved it to arm's length, though if he hadn't been out of town during the Shriek he would've known just how little effect arm's length would have. Finally he could see the number, and recognized it…Yumi. He'd set the background to change pictures depending on who called: Odd's was a picture of Kiwi, Jeremy's was Albert Einstein's with his tongue out, and Yumi's was a close-up of a bouquet of roses he'd brought her nearly a year ago when her grandmother passed away. He'd wanted her picture, but she insisted on it. Much relieved, he answered the phone.

"Yumi, hey."

"Yeah, took you long enough."

"Sorry, I had to do…"

"The 'check', right. I'm just messing with you, I am still allowed to do that, aren't I?"

"Of course. What's up?"

"The power at the factory."

"X.A.N.A?"

"No, Jeremy did it. He says he has something to show us."

"About time. I'll be right there, just gotta close up shop."

"See you soon, sweeeeeeetie."

"You know I hate that."

"That's why I'll never stop, be safe."

And she hung up.

Their relationship had been a roller coaster since the beginning. At first it had been nothing but a strong insinuation. Which of the two was 'serious' and which was 'just a friend' changed every other week. They'd been 'together', they broke up, and they got back together, and broke up again, then together…and so on. This had been their longest 'togetherness' to date, nearly a year, and things still felt strong. Ulrich always smiled after she called, always. She had a way of making every sound good, even bad news. But whimsy time was over, Jeremy had a plan, and he was ready for it. The doors were locked, it was time to go.

There were a lot more walkers and cyclists on the streets during the trip. Very few people were bold enough to take cars after the Shriek, and anyone who did made sure to chuck their radios and car phones first. The group only kept their cells because Jeremy assured them he'd made a secured connection—but he had also bought them the earmuffs, so it was kind of a mixed message. Ulrich had a bike, but it'd been stolen the first day after the Shriek. It hadn't been a particularly expensive one, but he just hadn't gotten around to replacing it – and he liked the exercise. The buses still ran, without radio of course so they were often assaulted by thieves. Cops couldn't communicate outside the range of loudspeaker. Things were falling apart quickly, and Ulrich had the feeling this was just what X.A.N.A wanted. He knew a few shortcuts, so it wasn't long before he arrived at the factory. Thanks to clever hacking on Jeremy's part, the city records showed that it had been thoroughly 'inspected' several times since X.A.N.A's supposed defeat, but never marked for demolition or put up for sale. The only human being who came anywhere near the factory regularly was Jean Amié, their theatric derelict friend who played the role of Aelita's 'uncle', who greeted Ulrich warmly.

"Ah, Monsieur Stern! Welcome back to the castle, mon ami. Your playmates are inside." Jean was surprisingly strong for his thin frame and pulled Ulrich easily up into a ferocious bear hug. After some protest by Ulrich he put him down, still holding him until he could hide his nearly empty bottle in his coat pocket. Whenever he wasn't wearing one of the suits Yumi would bring for his performances as Uncle Jean, he'd wear what seemed to be the only outfit he owned. Ratty black jeans, a badly worn out overcoat, and a slew of rags draping his chest that in a former life passed as a shirt, were all he had to his name. Shoes and socks were a luxury he couldn't afford, unlike whiskey. To his credit, he always tried to hide the bottles when the kids would come around. "So Ulrich, your friends and you, you make very little trips this way. You wouldn't be having …the…'smoke up', eh?"

Ulrich chuckled, "No, Jean. We're clean. Just working on a little 'group project', you know what I mean?" Jean's face stretched in disbelief,

"Mon dieu! I had no idea those girls were so…open minded."

Ulrich rolled his eyes. "Not THAT kind of 'group project', Jean."

"Ah, only kidding, young master. You go do this 'project', I'll keep out the riff-raff, eh?" Ulrich pretend to pout.

"Aw, Jean. We said you could have your friends over, if you wanted." Jean acted insulted and he opened the factory doors, but laughed as Ulrich passed in.

"Ha, who is the comedian now?" he said, shutting the doors behind them. The inside looked a bit different, Jean hand at remodeling it would seem. There were dirty but working lamps, a few old books by the bed and of course several 'hidden' bottles of liquor. Ulrich just smiled and shook his head as he stepped over the encampment and made for the elevator. He entered his personal code (a new feature Jeremy installed) and a short while later a confirmation light blinked. Jeremy and Aelita had an executive code, they could enter the lab whenever they wanted. Ulrich and the others had personal codes they would enter, that would only work after Jeremy or Aelita gave them a green-light from the inside. Jeremy put it in after the last polymorphic clone incident years ago, but they never really got to use it.

"Hey, Stern" called Jean, "what's down there, anyway?" Ulrich stepped inside and pressed the button for the computer room,

"Just a workshop, Jean. Don't worry about it."

"Just a workshop, eh?" said Jean skeptically "So why I can't I go down there?" Ulrich sighed and smiled,

"Because you don't work, Uncle Jean." And the doors closed behind him, sealing shut. Jean nodded thoughtfully, and reached for one his bottles and a thick book.

"Touché, Stern. Touché."

It brought back a lot of memories to be in the lift again. He'd been in it maybe just a handful of times over the last 3 years with Jeremy. Right after they shut down the computer, he would still come to check on things periodically, and Ulrich would follow, always asking questions about X.A.N.A, Hopper, and Lyoko. Jeremy's answers would either be old ones reworded or he'd simply avoid or ignore them altogether, fighting his own curiosity as it would seem. They'd just run through their checklist and leave, each and every time. But now, thought Ulrich, Jeremy would have no choice but to finally give them the answers they wanted—and needed—to face X.A.N.A again.

The lift stopped, the doors opened, and there was the crew. Yumi and Aelita were on the right, Aelita next to Jeremy, or course. He hadn't seen her in a while. She had certainly updated her look: a bright pink leather jacket that fit her well, with a star-spangled shirt and white jeans underneath. If you didn't know her you'd never guess she was one of the greatest scientific minds on the planet. Jeremy looked the part, however. His attire was classic; the long sleeved turtleneck with khaki pants, his hair was a little longer but still well combed, and the exercise let him fill out the sweater somewhat better than he had years ago. He was handsome, but he he'd never know it. Someone else who hadn't changed was Odd, Ulrich's original best buddy. His pants were still half and half; black on one leg and a deep violet on the other, and his hoodie reversed the pattern, and he had a picture of Kiwi with his tongue lolling out on his shirt. Yumi looked good in anything, especially the black she almost always wore. Her outfit was the most simplistic, just a sleeveless leather top with black jeans. She'd let her hair down a little further, with some bangs over her face, but she didn't need much to look hot.

And she looked hot.

"Well," said Odd, "the gang's all here, Einstein. Whatcha got for us?" Jeremy nodded and swiveled around to the supercomputer, bringing up many screens of information at once.

Ulrich was about to speak but Jeremy anticipated the question. "Yes, Ulrich, I did turn the supercomputer back on. But X.A.N.A wasn't in it."

"What?" said Ulrich stunned. "How is that possible?"

"X.A.N.A was—or IS, rather—a powerful entity," explained Aelita, her hand on Jeremy's shoulder. "But his intelligence and his sentience were always two different things."

"You mean his 'smartness' and his 'evilness'?" said Odd wryly. He meant it as a joke, no one laughed.

Jeremy followed up Aelita's explanation. "So to speak, Odd. 'X.A.N.A' was simply the title given to the program Franz… uh, that the Doctor created to destroy Project Carthage—which, as you know, is—"

"—A weapon designed to disrupt enemy communications." Ulrich sighed, tired of all the old answers.

Jeremy noticed his frustration, but ignored it. "Yes, exactly. The X.A.N.A program was very complex and took quite some time to create, but as intricate as it became, it never reached sentience. Until—"

"—He returned to the past….THEN!" shouted Odd, hands in the air.

Aelita snickered, but Jeremy was not amused. He continued, "As you know, return trips double X.AN.A's powers. The Doctor knew this, but didn't see how it could do anything but make the destruction of Carthage come sooner. What he didn't know is that eventually the power of the computer itself would become so great it would quickly surpass the complexity of the X.A.N.A program."

Yumi asked the obvious question, "What does that mean?"

"Think of it this way," said Aelita. "You have a small child and you teach how to add to a million. You take you through all the numbers up to a million, all the while explaining the addition process and well as numerical order. It's not long before the child can count to a million, and has mastered the addition process."

Jeremy continued, "But you don't stop, you continue teaching the child the same things, just adding more details each time. The child picks them up but soon decides there's a faster way; counting the numbers in groups, or multiplication. Simple inversion leads to division and subtraction, and soon it's learned even the most complicated forms of mathematics just by mastering and surpassing the basics YOU taught it."

At this point, Odd's jaw had dropped to the floor. "That was your 'short' explanation?" he gasped.

"I'm not sure I understand," confessed Ulrich. "Did it became alive when it finally mastered the X.A.N.A program or just when it had enough power to do so?"

"Neither," said Jeremy "it became alive when it started making decisions."

The room was quiet. It was beginning to dawn on them, but still the revelation wasn't quite clear.

"Think about it," said Aelita. "X.A.N.A wasn't just a computer, he was a super computer! You know how your word processor will fill in words for you, or the date? Fix spelling and grammar errors automatically? Picture that times a million. The returns trips were key to the supercomputers ultimate sentience, but so was the X.A.N.A program complexity—like an intense game will push your high-end PC to it's limits, so was the supercomputer pushed by my fath…my father's program." She was just staring off into space now. Jeremy quickly took over.

"A normal computer figures out simple calculator programs through sheer mathematics; it doesn't have to think, only process data and display the information. But the Doctor was asking questions that didn't have answers, and the computer was forced to figure them out. With the doubling power of the return trips, it could. Without knowing it, Franz Hopper forced the computer into sentience by forcing it evolve, to learn new things all on its own in order to write his program. When it was finally finished, it entered a sort of 'resting' state, which we believe is when he use it to create Lyoko, using only minimal amounts of its capabilities. When it awoke, it had grown beyond the point of following orders. It WANTED new, more complicated programs to write and decipher. It may have even the suggested the virtualization process."

"It makes sense," Yumi nodded. "Turning a human being from flesh and blood to pure electronic data and back again would have been the ultimate puzzle for it. That was its first emotion: Desire."

"And after it succeeded," said Jeremy, "it experienced a new emotion: frustration—maybe even jealousy. Hopper was done with the computer. He just wanted to escape with Aelita into Lyoko and disappear forever."

"We would've been happy with just each other!" she interjected, quickly becoming angry. "But that wouldn't be enough for X.A.N.A! He wanted to be pushed to his limits, no matter how high they were! And babysitting my father and me wouldn't do that. Lyoko took nothing more than an afterthought to run. He didn't care about it, or us."

"I'm not quite sure exactly what happened after that," said Jeremy, "but driven almost entirely by desire, frustration, and logic, X.A.N.A used what he learned about humanity from Hopper and Aelita to discern what the greatest challenge would be, and pursued it. He wanted to use them as his test subjects, but the experiments that that would entail drove Franz to try and escape. I believe the tried to get into the Internet thinking that he and Aelita could hide forever there. But X.A.N.A must have intervened during some critical point in the process. Hopper ended up a wandering data sphere, Aelita lost her memory…"

Aelita sighed. "…And the rest is history."

Again, the room was quiet. They all understood what had been said, but definitely need time to let it sink in. X.A.N.A enlightened itself... by accident? That seemed like a bit of a stretch, but it all seemed to fit together so well. Ulrich was the most cautious of this theory. He was sure Jeremy believed it to be true as much as they all did, but they'd searched for the truth before, and just when they thought they had sound solutions, X.A.N.A would always bring a brand new angle into the mix. But for now it was all they had: the mind of X.A.N.A, and his probable birth, but there was still one question left. Ulrich stepped forward.

"So Jeremy," he asked, "what was this 'ultimate challenge' X.A.N.A found in the human race?"

Jeremy was silent, a moment later he began furiously typing on the keypad yet again. After a few quick strokes he hit enter and several images appeared on all the screens.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked, and as the images gained resolutions, it all became clear. On the screens were pictures and streaming videos of wars, poverty stricken countries with sick and starving children, street riots along with news clippings or horrible atrocities committed; killing sprees and serial rapists. But there was more. Other screens displayed tableaus of humanity's less outright flaws: drugs, gambling, criminals manipulating the system of law, prejudice and hate crimes, corrupt officials standing in high positions of world governments, and human flaws all the way from simple obesity to gross genetic deformities. "It wasn't in the human race, Ulrich. It WAS the human race. For thousands of years we've tried and failed to find something that worked, that would make everyone happy—a world peace…and X.A.N.A wants to find it."

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA, " said Odd, making a 'time-out' gesture. "Are you telling me that this ENTIRE time, the reason X.A.N.A been trying to kill us, the city, and the whole stinking human race was to make us HAPPY? That pisses me off!"

"He wasn't trying to destroy everyone," said Yumi. "Just anyone who got in the way, like us."

"Think of it this way, Odd…" Aelita began.

"Oh no…not another 'short' explanation, can someone translate for me? Please?" He looked at Ulrich, who nodded.

"Listen Odd," he said. "You can learn a lot about fire just by watching it burn. The only problem is eventually the fire will burn itself out. Humanity's path is so self-destructive, all logic would tell X.A.N.A that without intervention we'd become extinct, and with us goes the ultimate challenge. No other animal on Earth has our drive or ambitions. They reach a balance with their environments and maintain it until the environment changes.. We don't. We change the environment; we constantly find new ways to expand outside it; and when someone disagrees, they break away starts their own expansions. We eliminate everything in our paths until we clash in climactic battles that solve nothing and only skew the balance even more. It's this cruel insanity we perpetuate unto ourselves, and yet survive that…"

"That what?" asked Yumi, quietly.

"…that makes me believe in God."

"Say WHAT?" Odd exploded, "Will someone in this room PLEASE start making sense?"

"While I don't entirely agree with Ulrich's _divine_ revelation," argued Jeremy, "I have, in my studies, found several similarities between X.A.N.A and certain mythological entities, such as Nergal, Set... 'Lucifer'."

"Uh…" Yumi entered, "I'm not a Christian, per se, but do I believe the DEVIL is real."

"I'm not saying he is or isn't," he continued, "only that his story and X.A.N.A bear several interesting links. According several 'Christian' texts, the angel that became the Devil was 'enamored at the beauty of his own design' and called into question the God entity's right to decide the places and task for all the creations he had supposedly given free will."

"'Enamored at the beauty of his own design', huh?" said Ulrich, "that reminds of a lot of people I know."

He looked at Odd, who just scoffed. "Comparing your best friend to the devil," he smirked, "real nice."

"…As I was saying, X.A.N.A's done the same thing. He became so impressed with himself he refused to settle for what he was made for, and rebelled."

"Okay, okay," said Odd," so in this analogy…Hopper is God, X.A.N.A's Satan, and we're….?"

"…still the human race, Odd."

"Damn. Well this is fun and all, but how did X.A.N.A survive the multi-system agent in the first place?"

"Ah, that was yet another stroke of genius," he explained, "during our last return trip, X.A.N.A executed a daring emergency plan, a 'fail-safe' if you will. Even if against all odds we managed to eliminate the Replikas and shut down the supercomputer itself, X.A.N.A would not be denied his challenge. Instead of using the trip to simply double his own personal power, X.A.N.A traded that opportunity to create an exact duplicate of his program. The two wove together so perfectly, working in tandem on each action, I was never able to tell them apart, and with being so focused on the Skid and destroying the Replikas, we'd all completely forgotten about X.A.N.A itself. During the final battle, X.A.N.A began to dissect his new 'half' into nearly byte-sized (heh, heh) parts and scattered them across the Internet. At which point they bonded to ordinary files all over the net, seemingly at random but in fact specially chosen for their likelihood NOT to be deleted. With appropriate back-ups made of each segment, of course."

As he spoke, Jeremy brought up a 3d representation on the holographic emitter, showing a X.A.N.A exploding into bits of dust and scattering over the globe. "Each byte was a bit of X.A.N.A, and when our half of X.A.N.A was destroyed, that was the trigger. Discreetly, all the bits and pieces began to come together into separate 'blobs'. Once enough were together they could reconstruct their original directive—X.A.N.A's ultimate goal—and when the coast was clear, re-form to become X.A.N.A himself."

"Okay," said Odd, "I'm gonna pretend I understood that. But let's get down to the real meat, shall we? How…do…we….KILL…him?"

There was another long silence, this one far more disconcerting the others. Jeremy and Aelita looked at each other, and sighed. Jeremy went back to typing, and Aelita spoke.

"At the moment, we have no idea.

"We don't know when X.A.N.A started this process, how much power he's gathered, or where he's based now. It must've taken an incredible amount of power to perform the Shriek, and I think that was just the tip of the iceberg. For now we think he might be distributed over the Internet, like a Replika, but his home base must be somewhere in the real world. However if we can find the Internet base, it should lead us straight to its counterpart."

"But what if—" Odd began.

Aelita anticipated the question, "We'll work on our own fail-safe programs. There is no way we're letting X.A.N.A escape this time; he's not holding anything back, so neither will we. He's not bothering with trial and error attacks anymore, and we're no longer his only targets. He's taking lives at a whim—he knows return trips wont bring them back, but he doesn't care—he believes he has all the power he needs to complete his mission."

"So where do we start?" asked Yumi.

"As soon as I got home after the Shriek," said Jeremy, "I started the Skid's construction program. It's basically the same design but there are several improvements. Better armor, weapons, etcetera. In the meantime I've prepared some Replika's of our own for training purposes. I was hoping we could try some tonight."

"Aw, yeah!" hooted Odd. "That's what I'm talking about! Odd Della Robbia: back in the ring by popular demand! Let's hit it!" Jeremy smiled, Aelita smiled; they all did.

"Ladies and gentlemen, to the scanners."

_-Thank you for reading Code: Crisis - episode two - "The – Reunion"-_

**-Next episode: "Dry – Run"-**


	3. Dry Run

C o d e - C r I s I s

Episode 3

D R Y - R U N

"Yes, yes, YES! I can't believe it! We're finally going back to Lyoko!"

Odd was dancing around the lift, kicking off the walls and doing cartwheels around the others – who were huddled in the middle to avoid his flailing limbs.

"Actually, Odd," said Jeremy, through the speakers, "the original Lyoko was destroyed along with first half of X.A.N.A when we deactivated the supercomputer. Where I'm sending you tonight is a Replika of my own creation, a combination of the Mountain and Desert regions I like to call the 'Dry Run' sector."

"Will there still be monsters?" asked Ulrich,

"Of course, but I've made a few modifications to them, as well. Since we'll undoubtedly meet newer, much fiercer creations by X.A.N.A with all his new power, I modified our classic foes to reflect that. Bear in mind that I have no idea what we'll actually face on X.A.N.A's new Replikas, but I think this will give a fair representation of what to expect."

"Jeremy, do we still have our vehicles?" asked Aelita,

"Not yet. I've been modifying them, like the Skid, to improve their general abilities and make them more durable. Oh, and I've done away with the OverWing."

"What?" shouted Yumi, "But that's my…"

"Relax, Yumi. Now that Aelita is capable of flight on her own, I decided you needed a more personal form of transport - one that wasn't so big a target. But don't worry about that now, guys. You won't need them in Dry Run…though you may wish you had them once you get started." And the speakers shut off. The lift stopped at the scanner floor and the crew stepped out. There they were; the same as ever – just a little better polished, thanks to Jeremy. There were still just three, Jeremy had thought to make at least one more when Aelita and William joined, but getting the parts to do would've been next to impossible – and since William never really 'worked out' for the team, there wasn't much inconvenience in two of them taking turns. Ulrich and Yumi entered the first two, she winked at him as they shut – he smiled back.

"After you, princess!" said Odd, bowing as Aelita stepped in. She loved Jeremy, but always thought Odd was the most charming, despite what nearly every other girl in town would say. The scanners sealed, and Odd was left waiting in the center while Jeremy warmed up the system.

"Alright, everyone," he stated, "for security purposes I have made a few modifications to the scanners, and to the virtualization process. From now on, the scanner will scan your fingerprints and retinal eye patterns when you step inside. Then, it use a brief laser sweep to collect fresh genetic information from your skin."

"What?" shouted Odd, "Did you just say these things will cook us alive?" Jeremy sighed.

"No, Odd. The scan is nearly painless, but I must take a fresh genetic sample to ensure you're really you and not one of X.A.N.A's polymorphic clones with a bag of your hair. I believe they can replicate your retinal eye and fingerprint patterns, but only they have an inorganic makeup so they can shape-shift. The regular scans protect us from human intruders, while my extra scan ensures that only a living human being can be sent to Lyoko. At least while I'm here."

"Okay," nodded Aelita, "we're ready."

Jeremy's fingers danced across the keyboard, initiating the sequence. When he accessed the virtualization process two hand shaped pads slid out from the side of the keyboard, he'd almost forgot he installed a similar security device for himself (having also been cloned by X.A.N.A more than once). He really hoped he hadn't been exaggerating when he said it wouldn't hurt. Nervously, he rested his hands onto the scanning pads, bright blue circles of light appeared around each of his fingertips, turning green as each one was verified. He took a deep breath, there was still one this he hadn't told his friends: Even though he had hoped that shutting down the supercomputer 3 years ago was the end of X.A.N.A, like Ulrich, he didn't believe it. It was too easy. He'd told them all that he'd come up with most of these improvements in just the last three days after the Shriek, but in fact some of them were years old, his own fail-safe should X.A.N.A return. But he hadn't lied; he made vast improvements over his original designs – to their suits, their vehicles, and their weapons. And soon they would see.

"Everyone," he said, "there will be a request for audio identification after the genetic scan. It will ask for your name, first and last, and then a new password."

"What's the password?" asked Yumi.

He told them.

"Ready?" he asked. They replied almost in unison.

"Ready."

"Initiating virtualization sequence!" he shouted. A red line of light swept up the hand scan, lightly singing his fingers. He winced. It wasn't at bad as he feared – a callus would eventually develop. In the scanners, a red ring of light appeared around Yumi, Ulrich and Aelita's feet. A second later it had swept up past them to the top of the pod, taking with it samples of their DNA. Ulrich had been sweating, all that was left was steam. With a whir the scanner came life, a strong wind filled their chambers, tossing their clothes and hair. It was refreshing, and nostalgic. Back in the computer room, the computer asked Jeremy for audio identification, he'd given the computer a voice. At first he wanted to make it sound like Aelita, but after all the years she'd spent in Lyoko (and the fact that she was in the real world) made that seem ridiculous, instead he made it sound like the nurse, Yolande Perraudin, whose voice he always found comforting. He even called it 'Nurse'.

"_Identifying?_" she asked, just as she were talking to a patient.

"Jeremy Belpois."

In the scanners, they all answered her query:

"Yumi Ishiyama."

"Ulrich Stern."

"Aelita Schaeffer."

"_Code?_" asked Nurse.

"Crisis."

"_Virtualization: Engaged._"

Simultaneously the scanners glowed with light. It'd been so long since they'd last run that it was shinning out of every crack and seam – Odd had to avert his eyes. Inside, the team felt themselves getting lighter, Ulrich looked down – his feet were glowing white, his legs soon followed, soon his entire body up to neck was pure white light. Then his feet began to disappear, pulling apart into countless pieces of white and blue squares of light; like pure energy confetti. The process quickened, speeding up towards his head. It didn't hurt, it even seemed like he could still feel all his body parts, even has his hands and chest started to dissipate. As his face exploded in light, breaking apart piece by piece, he took a deep breath and sighed contentedly.

He had missed this.

A moment later, they were all gone. The scanners opened, empty, letting out only steam. Odd quickly leaped inside,

"My turn!" he giggled, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Sorry, Odd," said Jeremy, "but it's been so long I'm going to need just a little time to get ready. We won't be virtualizing back to back for maybe a week. You'll be inside after a delay of five minutes, tops. Okay?" Odd crossed his arms and huffed loudly,

"FINE."

Yumi opened her eyes; he'd really done it. There it was – Lyoko, or least something very similar to it; Jeremy's Replika 'Dry Run'. She's almost forgotten how it felt - only having three of her natural senses: sight, touch, and hearing. No one ate on Lyoko. Aelita never did, and she'd been there for years before Jeremy found her in the supercomputer. There were no smells. Wind, but no 'air'. They could breathe if they wanted to, but it wasn't necessary – just instinctive. Taking it all in Yumi remembered how hard it was to believe that Franz Hopper thought he could make a life here. There were never any animals on Lyoko or any real ecosystems either. Even the Forest sector was more a picture of trees and grass then it was anything real. But Hopper feared for his daughter's life, so she guessed it was a sacrifice he thought fair to make. Maybe in time X.A.N.A would've helped 'evolve' Lyoko into a more realistic world, but instead it had decided on its own agenda: securing the ultimate computational challenge…humanity.

Ulrich was impressed. He knew Jeremy was smart, but this time he'd outdone himself! They arrived on top of a pillar of large gray stones, monumentally tall. There were thousands in front of the team, all of varying heights, but it seemed as if they had the best viewpoint. What seemed miles beneath them, at the base of all the pillars, was a thick mist, like steam or sea spray, swirling around the pillars and blocking their view of the bottom. In the distance he saw what looked like a massive stone bowl in the center of the zone, the size of a grand stadium. It had short walls around its rim, but was filled with many stone walls and columns, forming an immense labyrinth. He looked up. The sky had never seemed more real, clean and blue, with just a few thin clouds carried by the strong winds the permeated the world.

"Ulrich, look!" shouted Aelita, calling his attention the other side, except there was no other side! The pillar they stood on was at the very edge of what revealed to be a nearly continent sized floating island! Down at the bottom he learned the 'mist' was, in fact, water. And it stormed over the edges of the island out through the pillars in a display so magnificent it would put Niagara Falls to shame. From above he heard the familiar clicks and buzzes of virtualization. Odd had arrived.

"Aw YEAH, this place is awesome! Can't wait to sink my claws into THIS!" he shouted, dancing all around the pillar. It had been a while, but Ulrich could tell Odd's battle suit had changed. He still had his tail, but it looked more like a wolf's tail than a cats, now, and gray instead of striped purple. His ears were more canine too – taller and more swept back, though it was obvious they were responding to his cheerful mood. As he looked around he saw that they all looked different, if only slightly. Yumi's bodysuit was almost completely black, with thin, violet lines highlighting her…curves. Her face was painted again as well; white base, red lipstick, and elegant black swirls around her eyes and mouth. Aelita's looked mostly the same, only her skirt was now longer – just beneath her knees, and less transparent. Ulrich had changed too. He had a long, dun jacket over his uniform now, finger-less gloves with steel-tipped knuckles, and plates of silvery armor on his chest, thighs and lower legs. But he still had two swords, and they were a little longer now. Sweet, he thought, cracking a grin.

Odd finished off his routine with a spin and slid to the center of their arrival area.

"Alright, Einstein," he called out to Jeremy, "give us your best shot!"

"As you wish," he replied, and entered a sequence on the keyboard. In Dry Run the gang saw a bright pillar of right rise into the sky from the middle of the stadium in the island's center. When it dwindled, they could clearly identify that a tower had appeared in its place.

"Your mission is simple:" said Jeremy. "Make it the labyrinth and deactivate the tower. Use any means necessary…except vehicles, of course. Good luck."

"Well, this shouldn't be too hard, I think…" said Ulrich, "Aelita can use her creativity to build bridges between the towers. Then we just…"

"1-2-3...Let's do this! OOOOOOOOOOOOOODD DELLA ROOOOOOBBIAAAAAAA!" he screamed as he picked up speed and dived over the edge of the pillar, plummeting down towards the mist. The others just stood there, completely stunned.

"Oh my God," Yumi gasped, "he just ran in! Ulrich what do we…"

"….STERRRRRRN!!" and he was gone.

"Yumi, what do we do?" asked Aelita, clutching her arm.

"Nothing STUPID, that's for sure," she said, annoyed. "Just relax, this is Jeremy's Replika. Even if there IS a 'digital sea' down there, they'll just be devirtualized and only waste our time."

"Actually, it isn't a digital sea," said Jeremy, "the Sea is at the bottom of the abyss around the perimeter of the floating island. Directly underneath the island, in the mist, is a swamp."

Yumi was taken aback, "A swamp? That's…new."

"…Yes, I thought it would be a nice twist. But it IS very dangerous, so…you know….they MIGHT need your—"

"Yeah, yeah. I figured as much." Yumi sighed. "Well, 'let's do this'…Yuumiiii Ishiyamaaaaa…" she hissed, and stepped blithely over the edge. Aelita watched as they shrunk into the distance, and wondered if she should follow. After all, the GOAL was the Tower, and she COULD fly. If this had been a simulation she wouldn't have hesitated to go help them, or would she? She probably could make a rush for the tower and count on a return trip. She wondered what Odd would do…before realizing how stupid it would be to wonder that as he'd just done it. In the end, she decided to go for the tower. If there was danger in the swamp the three of them could most certainly handle it. And in all their missions, deactivating the tower always took priority over anyone's safety, especially considering the real world consequences if they dawdled. So, with a sigh, she stroked her bracelet and summoned her wings. They were much brighter now, larger too, and white and feathered near where they joined on her back, then pink and energy-based as they spread to the pinions. Catching a strong wind, she leapt from the pillar and started towards the stadium.

Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi were still in free fall. Odd had his arms and legs spread while Ulrich and taken a diving position, and he was starting to catch up to him. Yumi was far behind, just barely able to see the two of them. She tried calling out, but the wind was far too strong. Just a few feet away from each, Ulrich tried to communicate.

"Dude! What are you doing?" he shouted.

"Oh, man! Ulrich! Is that you? Didn't think you'd have the guts!"

"Do you have any idea what's down there??"

"Not a clue! You?"

"No!"

"Good! I wanted it to be a surprise!" The pair shared a laugh. It felt like the greatest game in the world. It did, that is, until X.A.N.A's monster showed up. As if on cue, a deep metallic roar echoed up from the mist. Fast as a reflex, Ulrich drew his swords and jammed them into the sides of the pillar, slowing him to a halt. Odd followed suit with his claws at nearly the same instant. They stared into the abyss, waiting for another sound. Meanwhile Yumi was still falling towards them, rather nonchalantly, when the roar reached her ears. Like a shot she drew fans which she discovered were much longer now, and expanded much further. They greatly slowed her descent until she was practically gliding, when she neared Odd and Ulrich she closed in on them and lighted upon a small perch on the pillar's face.

"What are we up against, boys?" she asked,

Odd shrugged, "Ask Einstein."

At base, Jeremy smiled as he typed in a few more modifications.

"Now, now, Odd. I thought you wanted it to be a surprise?" Ulrich pulled one of his blades from the wall and flourished it, preparing for battle.

"Ha, with friends like these, who needs a megalomaniac supercomputer?"

"Trust me, Ulrich. With all the power X.A.N.A's gathered, we'd be lucky if his monsters were any nearly as simple as the Goliath Krabe."

"Excuse me, the WHAT?" asked Yumi.

"…Oops."

Another roar erupted from the abyss. Ulrich steadied his sword. Odd clenched his fist, and two thin barrels appeared on his forearm – his laser arrows fired two at a time now. Hopefully Jeremy increased the ammo capacity to match. Suddenly their entire pillar shook as if a truck had hit it. Another concussion, and then another—each louder than the last—followed this tremor. It became obvious that something was coming towards them: something big, something Goliath. Yumi had to be very careful not to fall off her perch. She drew her fans but didn't spread them; she didn't want the winds to carry her away. There were two thin claws between Odd's arrow barrels, acting as a sight as well as close range weapons. He aimed them directly at the base of the pillar, though he could only see the mist. The strength of the shakes continued to increase, making it harder and harder for them all to hold on. They finally stopped with one last thunderous BOOM that rattled them all, shaking many pieces of rock loose. Then it was quiet: the proverbial 'too quiet'. They exchanged looks, but no one spoke. Even Jeremy was silent. Odd was tempted to fire a few 'warning shots', but even he was smart enough not to tick off whatever had just approached them. After nearly a minute of anxious anticipation, it began.

A charging hum could be heard, and a small red glow could be seen. Odd smiled,

"There he is—come to papa!"

His hubris quickly faded as the glow grew larger, but the creature, the 'Goliath Krabe' wasn't getting any closer, just its laser beam. Its very, very large laser beam. It soon became very obvious to Odd that one, even TWO laser arrows just weren't going to cut it, and perhaps a strategic retreat was in order. But then, lasers are notorious for being very fast.

"Look out!" shouted Odd. Still gripping the wall, he ran along the pillar face, out of the path of the beam. Ulrich was about to move too, but Yumi was trapped; she couldn't find another perch to transfer to and her fans weren't sharp enough to latch into the rock. She had to decide whether or not to risk gliding to another pillar all together. But her time was up. The beam was heading right towards and there was nothing to stop it.

Except Ulrich.

He leaped from the wall directly into the beam's path. He crossed his swords in front of him and hoped for the best. It hit HARD. Stopping is fall completely and even pushing him back up. It seemed his digital sabers were forming some kind of force field; they glowed more and more brightly as they held back the attack. Ulrich groaned in effort trying to maintain his stance, but even if he could've held out, his swords didn't. All at once they shattered into pieces, which, caught up in the force of the beam, ripped through his body like he were tissue paper. The force sent he rocketing into the pillar, but he'd successfully diverted the beam; it missed Yumi and only scraped the pillar itself. Ulrich had hit the wall with such force he'd made a small crater, which was the only thing keeping him from falling. Yumi was frantic.

"Ulrich? Ulrich! Are you all right? Say something! Just hold on! I'm coming…" she kept calling out to him as she desperately tried to work her way down to him with her bare hands. Odd was coming too, scrambling upwards towards him, inwardly holding himself responsible.

"Hey, buddy. Come on! You're good, right? Let's go get even!"

Ulrich didn't speak, very slowly he tilted his head down to see his wounds. He wasn't bleeding, of course. Instead a light blue mist blew from cut on his body. It didn't hurt, but he felt weak, like he could just fall asleep. He sighed deeply, letting out a cloud of blue air that dissipated into bits of data – he was devirtualizing. He slumped, and fell from the crater silently into the abyss. The Goliath roared as he faded into the mist.

"No…. NO!" screamed Yumi. She leaped from the pillar wall and spread her fans, diving towards the mist.

"Yumi, wait! DON'T!" yelled Odd. He tried to reach out and grab her but she was just out of reach. It was as if she was falling in slow motion as she slipped out of view. In fact, she was. The beast roared again, but it was slower and more distorted, Odd thought he could hear Jeremy speaking but it was also slow and warped. Soon everything began to fade, not like devirtualization, but like a fog. Yumi, the pillar, all of Dry Run melded into one massive gray fog that surrounded Odd, who was now floating it through it weightlessly. Then suddenly it all started to rush upwards, until he realized that he was the one falling. Slowly everything started to take shape. He was still in Dry Run, but now he was falling, still well above the swamp's mist, just as he'd been before they encountered the Krabe. He heard a noise, a strange distorted voice, but soon it too became clear, as well as his situation.

"…ude! What are you doing?"

It was Ulrich, falling right behind him.

"Wh…what?" Odd shouted, " Ulrich? Is that you?"

"Who else would be crazy enough to jump after you? Ha ha!" he laughed in return.

Odd understood. He knew what had just happened.

"_Foresight,_" he whispered to himself.

"What did you say?" shouted Ulrich.

"Ulrich! I just had a vision! Get ready to fight!"

Ulrich didn't hesitate. Odd's visions were rare - even back in the day - but they were always accurate. But even though they acted sooner things were still playing out much the same as before; Yumi glided to her perch and Ulrich slid to a stop on the wall. Odd held against the wall, thinking of what to do. Before the Krabe seemed to be aiming at Yumi who had the fewest defensive options. So this time he decided to provide a different target by creating a threat urgent enough to make it pass the easy kill.

"Ulrich," he said, "be ready for anything. And don't do anything stupid this time. Alright?"

"This time? Oh, right. Got it."

Odd probably could've put that better, especially since he was about to do something stupid right now. He started firing into the mist where the light had come from before, soon it's glow appeared, and it fired. But this was a much smaller beam, hastily fired in defense, and passed by them all harmlessly. Odd's plan was working, so far. Bracing his legs against the wall he made a daring leap to another pillar. It was much shorter than their own, its capital barely ten feet over the mist. Odd hit the ground with a roll and aimed both arms towards the mist that now completely surrounded him. The tremors began again. The Krabe was coming up – fast. Odd was having a hard time keeping his balance; he hoped there was only one of these things. Then he changed his mind, he hoped there were SEVERAL of these things. Cause for all this noise to be coming from just one of Jeremy's new Krabes, it would have to be very, VERY…

Odd whimpered, "…Big."

Out of this fog a giant black Krabe leg rose up and landed on Odd's pillar, it was nearly a story high! Then, not three, but five legs rose from the mist. Resting themselves on other pillars, only barely visible to Odd and the others. Finally, the beast hoisted up its enormous, saucer like body. Instead of orange it was black, dark blue, and silver. But on its back was the same eye, giant and glowing red. It still had three lasers on its 'mouth' but they were much larger now, with a fourth, even bigger barrel underneath. And it was charging all four as it aimed them at Odd. He stared, dissatisfied at his blasters and sighed, "Well I am just FU…"

"YAH!" Ulrich leaped from the pillar and landed directly onto the back of the Goliath, he raised both his sabers over his head and took careful aim for the dead center of the eye. This should be over quick, he thought. "Impact!" he shouted, plunging his swords…only to have them nearly fly out of his hands. He couldn't pierce its shell! He tried repeatedly, each time making his force more precise but to no avail. This Krabe was built to last. Meanwhile Odd was firing at its eyes, but any arrows that weren't incinerated by the charging beam only bounced off its hull. Yumi was still on her perch, fans drawn, trying to come up with a plan. Ulrich was still trying to break the eye, but he wasn't even making a scratch! How did Jeremy expect them to beat this thing if it had no weaknesses? Perhaps it did, he thought, just not one quite so obvious anymore. Then from behind him he heard what sounded like a hatch opening. He turned to see a circular vent open up on the beast's back. Out of it came a small machine that looked similar to a Roach, but with a more turtle-like and heavily spiked carapace. It also had the same color scheme as the Krabe, as well as its own tiny lasers. After a brief charging cycle it shot a spray of needle thin lasers towards him, slicing the sides of his legs and sticking themselves in his shin armor, making dark singes before evaporating. After a short recoil in pain he held both his swords at the ready, to deflect a further attack. Then he heard another hatch open, behind him. He soon discovered the Krabe's entire shell was covered with such holes, and they were all opening, letting out more the new Roaches until he was completely surrounded. And they all started charging their lasers. Ulrich stared helplessly at his swords.

"Well I am just FU…"

"Ulrich, duck!" Yumi was gliding towards him at high speed. He complied, dropping just as she reached him. She flipped over his back and landed in a crouch opening her fans just as the Roaches in front fired. The beams that didn't miss completely (Roaches were never famous for their accuracy) were either deflected away or bounced straight at them, knocking some over into the abyss and causing the rest to explode. Behind her Ulrich was able to give full attention to his own admirers, spinning his swords, protecting Yumi and himself. He noticed as the beams hit that they were dissipating like before, but rather were absorbed into his swords, causing them to emit a brighter blue glow. He started to get an idea…When the Roaches finished their volley, he gripped his swords tightly and concentrated. Yes, he could feel the energy within. Odd could see it too, that must've been what happened before when he'd seen Ulrich block the Krabe's beam – but they couldn't take all the power. Ulrich raised them above his head and took a deep breath as the Roaches charged another foray of laser fire, then with one bright blue flash he brought them down as hard as he could in one great slash.

"Impact…Wave!"

From his swords flew two massive rifts of light, ripping across the surface of the Krabe causing it to howl in pain. This also shook it's aim, causing it fire its beam far off course from the cowering Odd. Instead it plowed through some distant pillar, which then fell as a result. The Roaches didn't stand a chance. Any that weren't instantly vaporized were blown far off the Krabe, either crashing into pillars and exploding or falling into the abyss. Immensely satisfied, Ulrich flourished his blades and put them away.

"What was THAT?" asked Yumi, dumbfounded. Ulrich smiled.

"Upgrades."

The Goliath was wounded, but still alive. The cuts Ulrich had made exposed some wiring, but before he or Yumi could attack them another wave of Roaches popped from their hatches, then they heard another sound. Several of fist sized slots opened on the Krabe's legs, and out from them poured hundreds of what appeared to be giant, spiked pill bugs with single laser eyes on their heads. There was no way they could beat them all hand-to-hand, Ulrich wasn't sure he could absorb that much power, even IF he could manage to block all the blast. Nodding in agreement, they leaped from its back onto Odd pillar, where they watched the Goliath sway and moan as the tinier bugs started working to repair its wounds. As they worked, the Roaches got into formation and then suddenly their shells cracked straight down the middle, they popped open to reveal clear, ladybug like wings, and they took off towards the team, lasers charging.

"You've gotta be KIDDING me!" Odd moaned as he fired wildly into the cloud of Roaches. Few fell, and the Krabe was still making more. Yumi threw her fans into the fray, took out a fair slew of Roaches, and even bounced their laser fire back for even more take-downs, Ulrich tried to absorb more power but whenever he took a hit his swords would stop glowing.

"Come on! What's happening to me?" he groaned,

Jeremy finally spoke, "You can only use the 'Impact Wave' when you have full health, otherwise the energy your sabers absorb go to refueling your life points. You should be thankful, Ulrich, since you're taking a lot of damage." They'd almost forgotten he was there, usually he'd always be offering them suggestions, really leading the fight just as much as any general would do. But he had made this challenge for them, and it was their job to pass it. He could only use the wave when he wasn't getting hit? That could prove annoying, but the trade off seemed fair; he should've been devirtualized a dozen times over by now.

"So what do we now?" asked Yumi. She hadn't been hit yet, deftly dodging the laser blasts and deflecting them almost as an afterthought. Odd was having a tougher time, but made do with flashy breakdance maneuvers and blasting anyone he saw aiming for him. He was surprised his ammo hadn't run out yet. But if its not broke, he figured, don't fix it.

"We can't hold here," said Ulrich, "we should fall back to the Stadium and help Aelita."

"We these things on our tails the whole way?" she replied, "We'd never make it!"

"Well somebody better do SOMETHING!" howled Odd, windmilling through a spray of lasers before returning fire, "I can only keep looking so cool for so long!"

"Maybe I can help!"

Aelita soared down, wings spread, towards the Goliath. She charged an energy field in each hand, and then merged the together one sphere, which she strained to the size of a beach ball. The Roaches tried to target her but it was too late, the blast was already heading towards them. Anything they fired at it was absorbed into the energy sphere and when it hit nearly their entire cloud of forces exploded in an enormous fireball of metal and circuitry.

"See, that's how you can tell she's dating the Boss," said Odd. "She's got the best stuff!"

Yumi just shook her head at him. Ulrich wasn't paying attention to him at all. Seeing Aelita's attack had given him a plan.

"Aelita!" he called out, "Keep circling around over the Goliath and wait for my signal! Yumi, come with me! I'll need you on top of it with me again. Odd, keep it distracted."

"Roger! Make it happen, Cap'n!" Yumi and Ulrich leaped towards the Krabe's legs as Odd continued firing at its eyes. The pair ran nimbly up its legs until they were back on top of its head. But as soon as they touched down the Roach hatches opened again.

"Yumi, quick!" he shouted, "Close your fans and wedge them into the openings!" Yumi was starting to pick up on his plans and obeyed. She slid quickly towards two of the open hatches and used her fans to fix them open – it even kept the Roaches from crawling out. Ulrich took a deep breath and hoped Jeremy didn't have to sacrifice any of his old powers for the new ones.

"Triplicate!" he yelled. On cue, two other Ulrichs appeared at his sides. They had separate minds, but always worked in tandem – they knew his plan and went straight to their positions. All at once they wedged their swords into the other open hatches, keeping them from closing and from letting out more roaches. There were still more hatches though, and the Roaches kept coming, but Yumi and Ulrich had done their part. The two clones sped towards them. They grabbed Yumi and the original Ulrich and threw them safely away from the Krabe, back to the original pillar just the Roaches fired, devirtualizing them in an orange mist.

"Odd!" he called out. Odd nodded acknowledgment. He'd figured out the plan as well. He leaped from his pillar onto another nearby. It was too thin to stand on but it went high into the sky. He raced up on all fours and jumped off into the air. Aelita was on board with the scheme, too, and grabbed Odd by his wrists. She turned off her wings as the two entered a magnificent aerial spiral higher into the sky until they were directly over the Krabe. Then she threw him. She engaged her wings, and began shooting smaller, but still potent energy spheres towards the Goliath's open hatches. Odd followed suit, shooting an insane barrage of laser arrows at the same targets. Down below, Yumi and Ulrich tried their best to take cover but they had no weapons and the beast was charging its main ray yet again. On its back, the pills worked frantically to remove the weapons lodged in the hatch doors. But the Roaches were impatient, and foolishly tried to shoot them loose, charging them with more and more power – just as Ulrich had planned. The storm of arrows and energy spheres all arrived right on time; just at he swords had hit their peak of energy storage. All their ammunition soared into the open holes, triggering the swords as they passed. Odd had landed on a high pillar and Aelita was safe in the air, but Ulrich and Yumi were right in front of it. With no other options, they slid to the side of the pillar opposite the beast and hung from the edge – it would have to do.

The explosion was nothing short of spectacular. It's eyes burst out in flame, huge chunks of metal, circuitry and Roach fragments erupted from the hatches, and all of the pill bugs scurried like mad over every inch of the Goliath in a panicked frenzy; they couldn't make the repairs fast enough. Meanwhile the monster itself moaned and roared in agony, swaying left and right and quickly lost its footing. As more and more explosions popped out from its every nook and crevice, the beast died completely and fell, a burning metallic fireball, into the swamp below. Ulrich climbed back on top of the pillar and pulled Yumi up after him. Odd slid down and Aelita dropped in from overhead. There were hugs and cheers all around. Yumi kissed Ulrich, for saving their lives, but mostly just to see him blush. As they were still congratulating each other, Jeremy spoke out.

"Get ready, I'm ending the program." He sounded very frustrated. Soon the whole world turned to fog, then disappeared into oblivion. Soon each of them were alone in darkness, then surrounded in light, and one by one they devirtualized back into the scanners. They were tired, but they were victorious.

The gang came out of the elevator, hooting, cheering and patting each other on the back. Jeremy finished typing in a few more things before turning slowly to face them. He did NOT look happy, and the laughter stopped as a result. Aelita walked over and put her hand on his shoulder, she smiled at him but he didn't respond.

"What's the matter, Einstein?" asked Odd, "Upset that we beat your overgrown seafood platter?" Jeremy gave Odd a very sudden and cold stare. Odd froze, swallowed, and took a few steps back. Jeremy got up from his chair and started walking very quickly towards him, causing Odd to take more steps back until he was flush up against the elevator door with Jeremy right in his face.

"NO, Odd. I'm NOT upset because you beat my machine. I'm upset because it took you so long! Where did all of our training go? Our experiences?"

"Jeremy," said Ulrich, "it's been _three years_…"

"…And X.A.N.A's stronger than ever! Meanwhile, what have YOU been doing?" he shouted, Aelita then stepped between them.

"Living," she said, "or at least trying to."

Jeremy settled down. He was sorry for his outburst, but not through with his 'review' quite. He continued, more calmly.

"Listen guys," he explained, "I told you when we started that I have no idea what X.A.N.A's going to have waiting for us when we start searching for his Replikas. But there are a few things I know without a shadow of doubt. Do you honestly think he's only going to have ONE monster waiting for us at a time? Don't worry about an arsenal, I'll MAKE you an arsenal. But your heads weren't in what you were doing. Odd, Ulrich, this isn't a game! It never was, but the two of you insist on acting like it." Odd and Ulrich looked at the floor, embarrassed. Ulrich did have a plan for heading straight to the tower, but had decided to mess around with Odd instead. If this had been three years ago, LIVES would have been lost while they were sky diving.

"And Yumi," Jeremy added, "I know you were worried about them, but the deactivated the tower must ALWAYS remain the highest priority! That tower could've been swarming with powerful monsters—in fact I can assure you it was—and you let Aelita go alone!" Now Yumi was embarrassed - he was right, of course. Finally he came to Aelita. For what seemed like an eternity they just stared at each other, the argument happening mostly in own minds; they knew each other so well, and planned nearly everything together…except this. But Jeremy felt she should've already known what to do, and she did, but went back for Yumi and the others. He didn't know if he would've done the same thing or not, but what needed to have been done was clear.

"You're the only one who can deactivate the towers, Aelita. Never look back. Complete the mission."

And Jeremy returned to his chair.

"So…what," Odd asked, tentatively, "do we do it again?"

"No," answered Jeremy, "we'll wait until I provide you with your vehicles, along with the rest of your upgrades. It wasn't fair of me to make you face Dry Run without all of your abilities. It'll take a few days to get it all ready but…"

"But what?" asked Yumi.

"You guys were both over powered and outnumbered by basically ONE enemy, thought admittedly one that had many weapons to use against you. I've been thinking about this since the Shriek, and I've come to realize – and I think you'll agree – that we need more than just more firepower to beat X.A.N.A this time. We need manpower." The group was startled, totally confused.

"What are you talking about?" asked Aelita, "There isn't anyone else!"

"I'm not going to say anything," said Jeremy coolly, "you all know exactly which two people I'm talking about."

"Milly and Tamiya?" said Odd, hopefully. Jeremy absolutely ignored him. They all knew the real answer.

"The good news," said Jeremy, "is that they'll probably be together. The bad news…" he sighed, "is they're probably still bitter."

-

Somewhere in the city, outside an old movie theater, a cell phone was opened and the number 968-5673 was dialed. It rung slowly, Each ring becoming slower and more distorted than the last, until it finally collapsed intro a low, moaning static. But the static was the target, and the caller spoke to it.

"You're a fool."

The static crackled in response, the caller grinned. "You're risking too much. You should've struck at them with precision, finishing them off one by one..."

"And you should've gotten ME first, X.A.N.A. We both knew you would survive the shutdown of the supercomputer—and that even if I could never find you—they would. They're so weak, X.A.N.A, but they know it. And as they come to understand it more and more, they'll come to ME. And when they do…you're as good as dead."

The static popped several times, and then hissed its response. The caller smiled, holding the phone in his hand, gazing at the eye of X.A.N.A.

"You can TRY."

And with that, William Dunbar hung up his phone.

_Thank you for reading Code: Crisis - episode three - "Dry – Run"_

**Next episode: "Fifth – Wheel"**


	4. Fifth Wheel

C o d e - C r I s I s

Episode 4

F I F T H – W H E E L

Once again, Saburo found himself knocked to the ground. This was his longest losing streak to Ulrich since he had joined the class. Ulrich didn't notice the shift as his mind was elsewhere: Just the other day, Jeremy had suggested they add a new member to the team. Or rather, reinstate a former one: William Dunbar. When they'd first met years ago Ulrich didn't want to see him as an enemy, and he wasn't…at first. William was a fighter - just like Ulrich was – who loved to compete. But while Ulrich was more soft spoken about his talents, William was a shameless showoff.

Not to say he was a bad person; they could've been friendly rivals - just as he'd become with Saburo. The problem was that he and William were _too_ much alike in some aspects. They even were in love with the same girl…Yumi. William had fallen for Yumi almost the moment he saw her, and unlike Ulrich, wasn't afraid to forward about it. Yumi couldn't stand him. She loved Ulrich (though she hadn't been as sure then), but didn't know if he felt the same way. Ulrich was just as confused about Yumi's feelings for him. William noticed this tension, but respected Ulrich enough to give him 'fair warning' - if he didn't take his relationship with Yumi seriously that he would go for her himself. William saw it as a courtesy, Ulrich took it as a threat.In response Ulrich became much more aggressive and forceful towards Yumi. Trying more to make a show in front of William than to show real compassion towards her. In time it drove them apart, again, but not enough to give William a shot.

Three years ago, Jeremy had come up with a plan to save Franz Hopper, but needed a tower to complete his plan. With everyone else tied up in the real world, the only person left to cover Aeltia was William, and thus his first journey into Lyoko began. But William had as little patience in Lyoko as he did in the real world, and it wasn't long before he was caught by X.A.N.A. His mind controlled, William then became one of the greatest enemies they ever had to face. With already impressive abilities, now fueled by X.A.N.A, William was more than a match for all of them, even when they combined their efforts. They tried to treat him as just another of X.A.N.A's drones, but there were too many times when it seemed like William was still there, only letting his darker aspects show. He would taunt Ulrich and always finish him brutally. He would use Yumi's feelings against her, often making her think that his 'true self' had returned, only to lure her into a trap. He played similar tricks on Aelita: Once, he'd let her believe he was trying to escape from X.A.N.A's monsters, only to capture her when she tried to help him. Whether it was truly William's fault or not, the team soon became unable to separate their good feelings for the free William from their contempt for William enslaved to X.A.N.A, and his 'capture' became viewed as his betrayal. But Jeremy's logical mind saved the day. He prepared a program to save William, and with the entire team working together they were finally able to save him.

The decision to add William to the team again was one of desperation, not sentiment. No one felt right about it, least of all Ulrich, and it showed in his matches with Saburo. Still wearing a disinterested look of a person deep in his own thoughts, he helped his sparring partner to his feet.

"Ulrich," panted Saburo, "you're a real beast today! Is everything alright?"

"Nothing major," he lied, "I just have to do a project at school with someone I… that I don't really like working with."

"Ha! I know the feeling! Dad had me working out with a new student this morning before you arrived. He said he's never had a formal training, but he's almost as tough you are!"

Ulrich's eyes widened, he hoped Saburo wasn's talking about…

"And his girlfriend's a real pill too," continued Saburo, driving the final nail into the coffin as he glanced over Ulrich's shoulder. Ulrich couldn't react fast enough. Like a boa constrictor coiling around its victim, Sissi wrapped herself around Ulrich's neck, nearly pulling him off the ground.

"Oh, _Ulrich! _It's _so_ good to see you again, and you look so _good_, too!" she squealed while shaking him like a crazy relative. Still choking, Ulrich slowly raised his free arm, preparing a sharp elbow jab for her ribs…

"_Dude,_" snapped Saburo quietly, "_that's not funny!_"

"_Just joking…_" Ulrich wheezed as Sissi finally let go. He wasn't really joking, though – Sissi was lucky she let go when she did.

"So," he asked her, rubbing his throat, "where's your beau?"

"He's in the locker room, but he'll be a good ten minutes if you had…something in _mind?_" she grinned sensually, and leaned in till they were face to face. Ulrich scoffed, turning his face away like she was radioactive. She always smelled just a little too…fruity for his comfort.

"You never quit, do you?" he groaned, Sissi giggled.

"I'm just kidding, Ulrich. You know you already missed _your_ chance."

"Oh, how will I ever live with the pain?" he huffed, in the most dry, emotionless tone he could muster. Sissi laughed. He really, _really_ hated it when she laughed because it meant someone was suffering, and it was usually him. "So what are you doing here, taking a class?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"Oh, please. This is just me being fair. I told Will we should explore each other's interests; this was one of _his_."

"…And when he told you _I_ would be here?" he hissed through grit teeth.

"_Then_ it became mine."

"You two getting along?" asked a familiar voice. William stepped out of the locker room dressed in his karate gi. His shirt wasn't tied, letting his chest and abs show. It was all Ulrich could do to keep from throwing up. Sissi swooned. Like a model on the catwalk, William paraded into the room. When he and Sissi paired up his personality had changed – for the worse. The two of them absolutely ran the school, were invited to (and often threw) all the biggest and most insane parties, and they almost never got in trouble. Not because they were star students or anything, they just always made sure to have someone else there to take the fall for them. He may not have been under X.A.N.A's influence anymore, but being Sissi's boyfriend wasn't much better the way Ulrich saw it. He'd become as much of a prince as she was a diva. "Ulrich, man!" he said, grabbing Ulrich's hand to shake while patting him on the back, "It's been way too long. How are the guys?"

Ulrich replied, "They're _good_." He hoped the moral connotation could get into Will's thick skull. William (who had noticed it) laughed.

"You know, Richie…" he said. Ulrich winced. He NEVER wanted to be called that again. "...All the top doctors say that you should take the stick out at _least _once a month, too long is bad for the digestion, you know?"

Ulrich was burning up, but tried to let it roll off his back.

"So, I didn't know you two were into martial arts."

"Oh yes," said William, excited. "It was you and Yumi who gave us the idea, really. It seems like such a great' couples' activity that we just had to try it. If you don't mind, I'd appreciate if you and I could give her a little demonstration."

"Are you sure you're up for it, Will?" asked Ulrich, coyly. "After all, you don't have any 'formal training'. I wouldn't want to _hurt_ you…"

"I'm sure you wouldn't, Richie. But if you recall, I can be quite good at throwing my weight around. I'm sure your _friends_ remember."

Ulrich clenched his fists, "Get in the ring."

The two rivals squared off against each other, moving slowly around the fighting area, eyes fixed on each other. Ulrich kept his hands in front, sharp as knives. William was far more relaxed. He wasn't taking rigid, procedural steps and just let his arms hang at sides as if he were taking a stroll. He had a very annoying smile on his face, faux-friendly, and it made Ulrich want to wring his neck. After a few moments of circling, they stopped. Ulrich in a firm defensive stance and Will standing tall, but relaxed, his arms crossed almost impatiently.

"Anytime, Richie!" he called, in his 'friendly' voice. It…was…_ON_. Ulrich charged towards him. William didn't move…he grinned. He knew he didn't know as many techniques as Ulrich, but getting him mad would surely cause him to make critical mistakes. And William wasn't completely helpless either. Ulrich started with a three punch combo, but instead of shooting fast and straight, he reared back in anger with each punch, giving William plenty of time to dodge one after the other. He punched for the chest next, but William trapped his fist with a basic move he'd seen in a video online, turned sideways, and with little effort threw Ulrich onto his stomach. He decided not to laugh; that would've been a bit much – he did want a _good _fight, even if it wasn't exactly a fair one. Sissi was only barely watching. She knew they were both good fighters, and she had confidence in William's abilities, but at the moment she was far more concerned with her mascara. Saburo's eyes, on the other hand, were glued to the battle.

Swinging his legs around, Ulrich was soon back on his feet, and still pissed. He knew he'd let his anger get the better of him, and so tried to calm down, but it was hard to do with William just standing there, smiling at him. He got back into his ready position, and started slowly towards him. Acknowledging his more levelheaded opponent, William too took a fighting stance. When he got in range, Ulrich faked a right cross. When William flinched to the left, Ulrich quickly came around with his right leg and got him square in the jaw with a power spinning back kick. William did a complete 180 and was nearly seeing stars already. Ulrich wouldn't hit him in the back. He waited for William to turn around before he launched his next attack. When he seemed ready, Ulrich tried another punch combo—first, to the head. William made the mistake of trying to knock it away with both hands. He succeeded, but at the cost of leaving his midsection exposed, which Ulrich quickly struck with a strong right just under his lungs. It knocked the wind right out of him. When William hunched over, Ulrich finished it off with a left hook across the top of his head, sending William rolling to the floor. Saburo winced, Sissi glanced briefly, nodded thoughtfully, then returned to her makeup. Now William was mad, and Ulrich was the one smiling.

"_Looks like..." _he panted_, "you're not so tough outside a computer screen."_

Growling, but still struggling for air, William slowly stood up.

"_I_…_don't_" he gasped between breaths, "_need _it_…to beat…_YOU!" And with that roar, he charged at Ulrich, his fist reared for a punch. Ulrich figured he could take him out with a quick kick to the jaw, and tried to. But the punch was a fake, and when Ulrich kicked, William grabbed his foot and span - tossing him. The strength of it was so intense Ulrich almost thought he was flying across the room, and rolled several feet before he even started slowing down. In less that an instant he was back on his feet again, and running towards William. He leapt into a scissor kick, but William just backed away from it and deflected the punch that followed. Ulrich tried a series of strong punches at his head, but William knocked them all away – not with precise blocks, but with broad, sweeping arm motions - like a bear swiping its claws. Each knock felt like it would send Ulrich flying of balance, but he kept his footing and continued the attack. He started a series of repeated lefts. William dodged the first and blocked the second, but left himself wide open for the third and fourth – mistakenly expecting a change-up. Both punches connected with Will, and then Ulrich followed up with a swift kick to the stomach. Once again William keeled over. He felt like he could throw up…but still held on.

Ulrich was getting tired, but he was sure one good swing could finish it. He came with a powerful right aimed straight a William's head, but William still had some life left in him and grabbed it before it connected. Ulrich tried to pull away, but it was as if he'd thrown his fist into a bear trap. William twisted his arm fiercely, forcing Ulrich to lean painfully to the side. He was bent so far over backwards he would've almost certainly fallen down if Will just let go, but he didn't. Instead he pulled back his fist and delivered a devastating punch to Ulrich's face. It was excruciating--as if he'd been curb stomped by a truck! And then William hit him _again _with much the same effect_._ At this point (though any point sooner would've been appreciated by Ulrich) Saburo got up to stop the fight. But Sissi tugged him back in his seat.

"Don't," she warned him."They've got history. I know it looks bad, but trust me, it's for the best." And she smiled. Saburo, not knowing Sissi personally, made everyone's first mistake and trusted her. Ulrich was in a daze, nearly everything in the room except William's face (and fist) was a blur. He had an insane look in his eyes, they looked like they were glowing red with rage, but Ulrich shook it off. It must've been his headache getting to him. One thing was certain; wherever William was getting this strength from, Ulrich couldn't take another one of those punches. He took a deep breath and tried to concentrate, time seemed to slow as William reared back for another skull crushing blow, but just as he swung Ulrich managed to grab the oncoming fist with his free hand, and while William was in shock, pulled his other arm free from the lock. Now they were face to face, hands locked together in a competition of pure force, each of them pushing against the other with all their strength. But William was taller, and by leaning over forced Ulrich back.

Ulrich was really feeling the strain in his legs as his upper body was pushed further and further backward. If he kept pushing, something SOMEWHERE in his body was gonna break, and William was still rooted too well to toss; trying to would have just left him open – and he was running out of arm strength fast. But he held on, determined to win.

"_This was a bad idea, Richie!" _William hissed at him. "_You know I'm stronger than you!_" Ulrich gritted his teeth and pushed back with all the power he could muster, but gained only a few inches in return.

"_Like…_**HELL!**" he yelled, slamming his forehead straight into William's nose. He instantly recoiled, falling onto the floor, covering his face in agony. His nose was broken, and blood soon leaked through his fingers. Ulrich was exhausted. He fell to the ground. He yelped when he rubbed his face – both his eyes were blackened, and the cheek William had been using as a punching bag was swollen so badly it looked like he had an allergic reaction to getting his ass kicked - which most people do. He was bleeding from the mouth, but it didn't feel like any of his teeth were broken. It's not like he could tell, anyway; everything hurt like the dickens. He lay on his back, arms outstretched and breathed deep, trying to get his mind off the pain. Then from in front of him, he heard laughing.

It was William, still flat on the floor cradling his wound, laughing loudly. Sissi was on her knees to him, she'd brought some gauze but wasn't even looking at him when she gave it – typing something on her cell phone instead. The really odd thing was _how_ he was laughing - as if he'd heard a really great joke, not the insane, taunting laughs he did before. He leaned forward and looked at Ulrich. All the malice had vanished from his face. He looked at Ulrich as if the two of them had just had a really pleasant conversation.

"Oh man," he chuckled, "that was _killer_! You still got it, dude." Sissi put her free hand under his back and helped him to a sitting position, he checked the blood of his hands, sighed, then rubbed it off on his gi – leaving disturbing stains on the white cloth. Ulrich did the same.

"So…_Ulrich,_" he asked, emphasizing his proper name respectfully, "now that we've gotten _that_ out of our system... Friends?" He extended his hand forward in a welcoming way. Ulrich sat up and just stared at, not with disbelief, but with a very exhausted look. He glared at him for nearly half a minute.

"_Fuck_ you, Will."

He then got up and left the dojo. He didn't even bother to change his clothes; it wouldn't be the first time he'd left in a blood stained gi. He practically had his own private bin for them. William and Sissi stayed behind to help clean, all the while with William apologizing for his behavior. About an hour later they left. William was back in his old clothes, dark red T, black jeans, jacket – complete with broken nose and black eye. Sissi was holding his arm and resting hear head on his shoulder. Still feeling bored - she sighed deeply.

"So," she asked, "what did that accomplish again?"

"Right now," he explained, "Ulrich's going back to his friends to tell them that after three years barely lifting a finger in training William Dunbar still has the edge and, though he'll _hate _to admit it, would be an invaluable re-addition to the team."

"…But you _have_ been training."

"But they don't know that. I'll be in by the end of the week, tops."

"Oh fantastic, I get to hang with your little playmates. _Why_ am I helping you do this again? Why do you even want to go back there?"

He pulled her closer, "…X.A.N.A stole my life. For months I was nothing but his lackey. His tool. From behind a veil of shadows I had to watch as those idiots let him get closer and closer to ruling the world."

"Is that really what's upsetting you, William?" she grinned, "Or, is it the fact that they got a complete retard to replace you and your own parents couldn't even tell the difference?" Laughing, she kissed him, and somehow all the anger melted away - but he didn't lose sight of his mission. His plan was coming along perfectly; he didn't need the Lyoko warriors to trust him, just to _need_ him. Once he was on Lyoko he'd have all the power necessary to get his revenge on X.A.N.A. For months he'd been the evil computer's slave, his life stolen away. He could feel the power he had, but never had any control over it – he could only watch through dark windows as X.A.N.A used _his _body and _his _skills to complete his master plan. And then to be stolen again at the end, so he couldn't even be there to deliver the would-be final blow, was the greatest insult of all. He wanted to use that power, one last time, against the one who'd been keeping it from him.

But now everything was in place. Ulrich was headed straight to the factory, and Jeremy had to be running out of options _fast_. It was guaranteed, he _would _return to Lyoko to face X.A.N.A. He smiled contentedly after the kiss. After the world was saved he'd be a hero, and they could both have anything they wanted. William's plan was so perfect…

He didn't realize it wasn't his.

--

_Thank you for reading Code: Crisis - episode four - "Fifth – Wheel"_

**Next episode: "The – Tournament"**


	5. The Tournament

C o d e - C r I s I s

Episode 5

**T H E - T O U R N A M E N T**

Part One

* * *

Odd and Jeremy were working in the factory's computer room, or rather, _Jeremy_ was working while Odd provided company. He was working on the virtualization programs, making more slight modifications to the team's virtual forms and – as always – updating the Skid. It wouldn't be long before they would need to make an exploratory run for the Replikas they were sure the evil computer X.A.N.A would be creating. Odd was sitting idle, cleaning the gunk out of his fingernails between games of tic-tac-toe on his cell phone. It'd been nearly a week since the Shriek with no sings of a follow-up. It made Jeremy curious, an emotion he might've enjoyed had he been sure he could solve the puzzle, and when lives weren't on the line every hour he worked at it. He pondered over the explanation he'd given the team regarding X.A.N.A; he wasn't sure he believed it. He needed to tell them something, and the 'ultimate challenge' theory was one of many he'd hypothesized about X.A.N.A's motivations. But even though the gang believed it, and there _was_ a good possibility of it being true, but there were still several holes that needed to be filled to put his mind at rest.

First of all, the supercomputer itself was almost a fluke – a brilliant, but nearly accidental creation/discovery of Franz Hopper/Waldo Schaeffer. The doctor didn't know about the power doubling effect the return trips would have on the computer's power, or that the X.A.N.A program he designed to destroy Carthage was so complex it would end up driving the computer to _evolve _in order to solve it, to the point where it would try to solve ALL problems to the point of obsession. Even so, why would he need so many return trips to finish the program? Was time really that short? Franz couldn't have been much older than 40 at the time. But perhaps whoever was backing him grew impatient, and with his family's life at stake he couldn't risk wasting time. But that was only half the mystery. The world, Jeremy knew, contained many powerful computers, but none like the Supercomputer. When it developed sentience, and dubbed itself 'X.A.N.A' after the program that triggered it's evolution, it developed certain emotions as well. Not all feelings, only the ones directly related to its new purpose. It also needed humans level of desire and wanting in order to surpass logic, to pursue its final goal regardless of the cost. But it also needed empathy, or (Jeremy could scarcely believe it) _compassion_ in order to let it better understand human nature in order to manipulate and study it; a key part of his experiments. It made Jeremy shudder to think of it, but nearly all of X.A.N.A's attacks on them and the school in the past could have been experiments as well.

The laughing gas could well have been a study of an emotion alien to X.A.N.A, along with Ulrich's memory loss as a study on the brain. The killer music (a much more subtle attack than the Shriek, but still deadly) could also be construed as an "innocent" test. He remembered when X.A.N.A took their forms as a Spectre and played on their emotions, making it appear as if they'd forsaken their partners. Causing infighting amongst them was certainly a fortunate (and possibly predicted) side effect, but perhaps not the _main_ reason. He'd tried exposing them to all sorts of natural disasters, environmental extremes, emotional traumas – all off which nearly killed them, but certainly would've taught him more and more about the human race. If Jeremy was right, and X.A.N.A did want to control humanity simply to find the one working order that'd been eluding them for so long… even if mankind didn't become extinct on their own in the next century, X.A.N.A's experiments would certainly finish the job. It was most likely, however, that if he did gain absolute control that he would organize (i.e., force) breeding to ensure he would always have a supply of 'material' until he found his 'solution'. At which point he could easily force the human race (who would undoubtedly have little to no free will at this point) into his new, "perfect" government and rule them for all eternity. Or, he could be bored with them now that he had his answer, and leave whatever battered handful of life that remained on Earth to rot while he scoured the universe in a destructive quest for new life to 'study'. Or, if he should he fail his quest entirely, he'd probably just kill every last human that remained and then shut down forever.

A multiple-choice apocalypse.

"So, Einstein," asked Odd, "you giving me bigger guns or what? And will I still have unlimited ammo?" Jeremy sighed, almost gratefully; at last he had something else to think about.

"Yes, you will. I found a way to draw energy from the countless bits of wasted energy and data on the internet to power your ammo stores, you'll also have a guided arrow attack, but the energy required for that will limit it to about 4 full rounds per virtualization." Odd nodded.

"Well, that kinda sucks."

"I guess, but you'll still have your energy shield."

"Sweet! Hey, are we still gonna get virtualized into the real world, like last time?" he asked eagerly,

"We'll have to at some point," answered Jeremy, "and that's something else that's been bothering me…"

"What?" asked Odd.

"X.A.N.A's power was getting harder and harder to store on the supercomputer with each return trip. It was and _is_ a magnificent machine, light-years ahead of our best computer systems even today, but it still has limits. At the same time, it was still the _only_ place capable of storing X.A.N.A's most prized possession."

"His car keys?"

"His _sentience,_ Odd. I told you that they weren't the same things. X.A.N.A's one real weakness is that the part of him that makes him 'alive' must always be kept in a real storage base. The Internet may be vast, but there's no 'space', so to speak. The Internet is just what we call the network of computers we remotely access from our homes, phones, laptops and so on. The 'series of tubes' we use to send and receive information. Which brings me to what's been bothering me for some time…even if X.A.N.A did duplicate himself, the pieces he scattered onto the internet would only have been _sub_programs, directed by the former X.A.N.A to complete his instructions: merge together, and launch attacksl. But they wouldn't be sentient, they just be very well programmed, dangerous viruses."

"…Capable of killing a thousand people in under an hour with NOISE?"

"Even if X.A.N.A _did_ program his second self to complete his _entire _agenda, it still wouldn't be X.A.N.A; just an ordinary program that could be run by ordinary computers. Like I said before, X.A.N.A is in love with his magnificence. He must've found a way to keep his sentience intact, and that means he found a place to store it that I couldn't detect – and would never think of searching."

"And where is that?" asked Odd.

"If I knew _that, _X.A.N.A wouldn't have gotten as far as this. My guess is another computer system, but there can't be very many systems in the world equal or even _close_ to the power of the supercomputer, if there are any at all. It would have to be a large, powerful network of…"

"_Jeremy, we're here."_

Ulrich was speaking into the security camera from the elevator, next to him was William. Jeremy sighed. He didn't know quite what to make of the impromptu karate duel Ulrich told him about the night before, but he didn't leave out William's apparent 'good will' and impressive fighting skills. That, and the fact he was the only other person who knew about X.A.N.A pretty much cemented Jeremy's decision to add him back to the team. But after what it took to convince Ulrich to bring William, it was going to be hard to warm him up to the idea of adding Sissi as well.

Elisabeth Delmas would've been their worst enemy throughout Junior High School,_ if_ Jeremy had never found the supercomputer. She was an entirely unpleasant personality: selfish, vain, cruel, and shallower than a petri dish (as Jeremy would say). But after their many battle with the _truly_ evil X.A.N.A, things started to be put in perspective for the group, and Sissi fell from "arch nemesis" status to "mild annoyance" to "comic relief". During many crises they would come understand a little more about her, and even discover she had a few shreds of common human decency. Even Ulrich noticed that Sissi wasn't just talk (occasionally), and could pull her weight through a X.A.N.A attack. Unfortunately, every time she would reach a turning point in her identity, a return trip would change her right back into the same, heartless shrew she'd been at the beginning of the day. Her grades were lousy, but she wasn't a fool – she soon became suspicious of the team and their constant disappearances. Eventually she learned about X.A.N.A and Lyoko, albeit only bits and pieces, and became even more of a pest than before. A return had trip erased her memory of what they'd thought had been their final battle with X.A.N.A, and they figured there wouldn't be and more worries about her snooping. Jeremy locked the factory, and the gang (for a while) tried to accept her as a friend. Alas her negative traits would soon overwhelm them until, ultimately, she was cast out again. That's when she met William. Jeremy still couldn't believe they got together, but at least it would make recruiting them that much easier.

"Hey Jeremy," called William, "aren't you going to say hello? Or are you as sore as Ulrich?" he chuckled and nudged Ulrich playfully in the arm. Ulrich gave a fake laugh, before jabbing him sharply in his still-aching ribs with his elbow. William winced, and tried to laugh it off, but the smile just turned into a grimace. The elevator stopped at the operating room, but only long enough for Odd to hop in.

"Hey, Willie! Long time, no see!" Odd gave William a good natured knuckled to the arm. He felt a little better...at least not _everyone _was still mad at him.

"The girls are already in Dry Run," announced Jeremy. "I'm dropping you all off at a different location this time. I'll explain when you arrive."

"What's 'Dry Run'?" asked William,

"A new sector in the form of a Replika," answered Ulrich. "Jeremy designed it…it's pretty intense." William nodded and smiled; it sounded like fun, but he had a strange feeling in the back of his mind – like a distant part of him was immensely disappointed they weren't going to a _real _Replika. Of course he felt it too. After all, he wanted his revenge. But that could wait for now – it'd been a long time and he was sure he could use the practice. The elevator doors opened at the scanner floor. William breathed deeply – it was just like he'd remembered it the first time. One by one they stepped inside their pods, the scanners sealed and Nurse started the virtualization process.

"_Identifying?_"

"Ulrich Stern."

"_Code**?**_"

"Crisis."

"_Virtualization."_

And moments later Ulrich's pod opened, empty. William started feeling nervous.

"It's just a security measure," explained Jeremy, "just do what Ulrich did." William nodded surely as Odd started his virtualization.

"_Identifying?_"

"Aw, you know me baby!"

"_**Identifying**__?_" she asked again, sounding frustrated.

"Odd Della Robbia…_(ya icebox)"_

"_I heard that. Code?"_

Odd laughed, "Crisis."

"_Virtualization."_

Odd's own personal light-show began, and soon he was gone too. Something was really started to get to William, he started to wobble around in his scanner (fortunately, Jeremy couldn't see him) – he was nearly sick to his stomach. He wasn't scared at all, but his guts sure seemed to be.

"_Identifying?"_

"Ugh…William Dunbar."

"_Code?"_

William almost keeled over in pain, "_Crisis…_" he wheezed. Meanwhile in the operations room Jeremy was monitoring his vital signs. The computer was taking a little longer to scan William than it did Odd or Ulrich, and Jeremy had became more concerned when he heard William's pained replies to Nurse. He was about to cancel it when the scan completed, reading William as clean. Jeremy shrugged, he trusted the program – he designed it himself after all – and gave the final green light. William closed his eyes.

"_Virtualization."_

It sounded like he'd fallen into a tornado. His stomach still felt queasy and he didn't open his eyes for fear he'd be virtualized next to (or part of) a pile of puke. Within seconds he was gone.

And then he was falling.

He looked up (or down, rather) and gazed at Dry Run. He could see the field of massive, tall pillars, the spectacle of the entire floating island, even the waterfall (which looked like it was falling up). But it all paled in comparison to the much more important fact that he was free falling straight towards all that beauty and didn't know why. He saw, some ways away, that Ulrich and Odd were in the same predicament – falling at top speed towards the island. Either they would crash on a pillar and devirtualize instantly, or fall into the misty swamp that, as Odd and Ulrich knew, wasn't any better.

"Jeremy," asked Ulrich, calmly ,"you maybe want to explain this?"

"I finished your vehicles," he explained, "they're all capable of flight. You can summon them at any time by name. They can take more damage now but I'll need time to repair them if they get destroyed. "

Ulrich nodded, "Over-Bike!" he yelled. It virtualized right in front of him, falling at the same speed. It looked pretty much the same, a bit larger to fit his growth and perhaps more streamlined. He flipped onto it as soon as it was ready and immediately began levitating in the air, "I'll never understand how this thing works," he shrugged, "but I sure as heck ain't complaining now!"

"My turn," shouted Odd. "Over-Board!" he hooted as he flipped acrobatically onto his freshly virtualized Over-Board. It, too, was the same as before, just a bit longer and sleeker. William had heard all of this, but it only reminded him that he'd never actually gotten a vehicle of his own, other than X.A.N.A's Manta, but he doubted Jeremy would be giving him one of those.

"Where's your pet, William?" said Jeremy, encouragingly. William's eyes widened – maybe he was wrong?

"…Manta?" he called, tentatively. With a friendly, whale-like moan a large Manta virtualized in the air next to him. It wasn't black like his old one, but gold and white instead. It lacked X.A.N.A's eye as well, in it's place was the triangle symbol he had on his zanbatou sword. He slowly turned himself right side up as the Manta swooped beneath, catching him perfectly – just like always. As he looked down at it, he proudly he noticed he'd changed a bit as well. He had almost forgot what his outfit was like before X.A.N.A changed him: the black pants and the split shirt – light blue on one side, white on the other – but now the shirt was a flowing coat. He had a red strap going around his upper body, he found it connected to a special scabbard on his back for his giant sword (he also noticed he had a ponytail). His sword had changed too – instead of coming to a point like a stretched triangle it was completely straight (though still sharp) on one edge and the other was jagged like a saw, sloping out towards the hilt. He didn't know if it was Jeremy's idea or simply a reflection of himself, but he sure liked it. Together, they all descended gracefully towards Dry Run. Ulrich landed on a pillar. William headed towards the labyrinth stadium, eager to explore it. Odd decided to follow him, equally curious. He followed some distance behind William, hoping to surprise him when they arrived. When William landed, Odd dropped into a concealed nest in the rocks from where he could spy on him and pull his prank. It wasn't until Jeremy's announcement that he realized how useful his position would prove. All their vehicles were then called away by Jeremy as he explained the mission.

"I thought we'd try a little something different this time," he said. "Your teamwork last time was spot on. But now we're going to push your individual fighting skills to their limits."

"We each get our own personal Krabe to beat?" asked Odd, coyly. Ulrich winced. He hoped Jeremy wouldn't take Odd seriously. William scoffed quietly; he remembered the Krabes – couldn't think what was so tough about them.

"No, Odd," laughed Jeremy, "not at all. I've accepted defeat. Instead I'm going to pit you guys against a much, _much_ tougher enemy…"

Every member, even William, cringed with foreboding.

"…Each other!"

After the simultaneous "SAY WHAT?" from all present, Jeremy explained the exercise. "It's a complete and total free-for-all between all of you - no holding back - last man (or woman) standing wins."

"Where _are_ the girls?" asked Ulrich.

"I can't give away their positions, of course. But they've been waiting for you… Ready?"

"_No…_" whimpered Odd.

"**Go!**"

Ulrich drew his swords. A free-for-all battle? Interesting. He was sure he could take Odd, Aelita might be tricky, and Yumi would certainly be a challenge. But the person he was looking forward to butting heads with the most was William. He'd seen him head towards the labyrinth. So, with long leaps and bounds he started towards the stadium. William was making his way through the maze holding his sword at his side while Odd watched him from the top of one of the mazes rocky walls. Odd couldn't help but snicker. At any moment he could decide to just take him out with a guided arrow attack – he'd been dying to try it. But his conscience got the better of him; William had never really had a 'good time' in Lyoko, so to speak. Taking him out so early before he could even fight back wouldn't be fair…or fun. Sighing, Odd decided on a warning shot. A split second later William found an arrow embedded in the wall just where his head would've been.

"Odd?" he called out. He pulled up his sword defensively. Odd popped over the wall in a spinning jump, he stretched out just as he passed over William, firing off a few more shots before landing just a few feet behind him.

"You know it," Odd chuckled, "I took a big risk not wasting you right away; I wanted a fight. Hope you won't disappoint me!" William grinned.

"C'mon, Odd. Have I ever disappointed you?"

"Once." Odd replied solemnly, the cheer vanishing from his face. William was annoyed, and sighed.

"So…you're still mad at me too, huh?"

"Bah," said Odd, laughing again, "not really." He then raised up his gauntlets and the barrels of his arrow launchers began to glow. "_Guided Arrow!_" he shouted, sending four streams of light speeding and spiraling towards William. Will grinned, and in one swift motion blocked the attack, all the arrows stuck in his blade.

"That all you got?" he asked, playfully. Odd just smiled.

"Oh, it's not over yet."

A high pitched whine could be heard. William looked to see that the arrows he caught with his sword were starting to glow brighter and brighter as the whining noise increased in volume. It was pretty obvious what was going to happen. At the last moment, William threw his sword into the air, barely a moment later the arrows detonated, knocking William back against the wall – but Odd didn't flinch. Out of the smoke cloud, William's sword fell down point-down into the ground between them, singed, but intact. Odd walked up to it and leaned against the flat side.

"_Is that all you got?"_ whispered Odd, mockingly. William's ire was up and he started to feel the same burning rage that had taken him over when he fought Ulrich at the dojo. For a moment he was seeing red, with only Odd visible in the dead center of it. Without thinking, he extended his hand towards his sword, and it began to glow bright blue. It started to shake and a frightened Odd leaped away. Suddenly it ripped from the ground and went spinning at high speed towards William, he caught it without effort or recoil in his waiting hand.

"Whoa," Odd gasped, "that was pretty tight." William just stood there, sword in hand, rasping deeply like some kind of wild animal.

"_You ain't seen nothing yet!_" he hissed. With a loud roar he raised his glowing weapon over his head brought it down with crushing force towards the ground. "_Sword Streak!"_ When it hit, it sent a massive vertical wave of blue energy speeding towards Odd, who dodged it with a quick cartwheel at almost the last second. The wave continued on until it reached the end of the corridor, exploding in a huge plume of rock and smoke, leaving a gaping hole in the maze wall. Odd could only stare at the smoldering wreckage; his jaw nearly hit the floor. William didn't miss a beat, he charged at the distracted Odd, who only just barely ducked under his swinging sword. He continued his assault, swiping at him with startling speed. Every swing carried a huge wake of wind behind that felt like it would throw Odd off his feet. After a quick spin, William struck low. Odd hopped up, letting the sword stick itself into the ground – while he landed on top of it. He had a moment to grin smugly before William pulled his blade with a loud yell, sending Odd flying high overhead. After orienting himself, Odd fired a few quick rounds at William, who deflected them easily. Then he started to swing his sword around over his head, charging up another streak attack. Odd couldn't do much to dodge it in the air, and Jeremy had devirtualized their vehicles when they'd jumped off them. Odd just had to hope there was one more of his old abilities Jeremy hadn't done away with. With a loud shout, William sent the streak soaring up in a shining crescent wave towards Odd who, just as it hit, brought his left forearm in front of it and called out –

"_Shield!_"

William's Sword Streak his hard, stopping him in mid-air for a few seconds before spilling around the shield. He used the force to change the direction of his fall, landing him a safe distance away from William and prepared for another attack. Will shouted angrily, charged another streak, and sent it ripping through the ground towards him yet again. Odd was surprised; his shield was still up. William must not have been thinking straight! But that wasn't _his _problem, he checked his footing and braced himself for the hit. The glow and debris emanating from the attack almost completely obscured his few of William, who smiled as he whispered his next move.

"_Super Smoke…" _he hissed, and disappeared into the ground as a plume of white smoke. He sped as a discreet ripple behind his streak attack, until the two were indistinguishable from each other. Odd didn't see it, and then the attack hit. He deflected it, just as William knew he would. But as the attack flushed around Odd William sneaked right under his feet and popped up right behind him and with one move cut Odd clean in half.

At least, that's what happened the first time.

Right on cue, the world around Odd melted to smoke – his lower half reappeared, and William dissipated into a mist of colors before flying away and reforming back in the distance, just about to launch his attack. Odd loved the improvements to his Foresight, but it almost made things _too_ easy. William launched his Streak like before, but instead of just standing there and waiting for it Odd charged towards the attack, counting down in his head. At the right moment he leaped high and over the energy wave. As he'd planned, William was already in his smoke form and speeding towards Odd's former position. He grinned broadly; this would be sweet.

"Guided Arrow!"

His attack sped after the smoke William, he appeared just as he had before behind where Odd would have been standing. But much to Odd's surprise William turned around and caught the attack…right in his arm – his sword was gone, something had changed. All four of the explosive charges were embedded in his forearm, they started to glow and whine like before, but William just looked at Odd and smiled wickedly. Odd was still in the air, utterly confused, he couldn't figure out was going on…until it hit him, literally. William extended his arm and his sword came spinning through the air, right through Odd, and back into his hand.

"Nice try," said William, "the exploding arrows threw me for a loop, but I didn't forget _all_ your tricks." For Odd everything went black, he broke apart just before he hit the ground, his halves exploding in clouds of devirtualizing data. William looked at his arm. The arrows' whining started to die down, along with their glow. Soon they looked just like ordinary arrows, and then they devirtualized just like Odd. "_One down, three to go._"

Jeremy fidgeted in his chair; something was off. He started to check William's data again. A sore Odd entered the room, fake limping towards Jeremy.

"Oh man, anybody get the license number of that truck?" he groaned. Jeremy was still studying William's data file.

"Odd, did William seem a bit…_different_ to you?" he asked.

Odd shrugged, "Well, seeing as how he kicked our butts three years ago too…nope, not really. Hey, how come my arrows didn't explode?"

Jeremy shook his head, "The homing ability, as well as the subsequent detonation, is tied directly into your digital mind. When you were devirtualized they became inert. But how could William know that…?"

"…AND how'd he out-think my Foresight?" asked Odd.

"That's an even bigger mystery. To this day I'm not entirely sure how some of you guys' powers work. Ulrich's super sprint is pretty straightforward, as well as Aelita's creativity. But your Foresight and Yumi's Telekinesis have always had me stumped as to how they worked. William seeing past your Foresight might mean that he, somehow, knows how it works. I guess I'll ask him afterwards… "

"Yeah," moaned Odd, "you do that."

In Dry Run, Ulrich was having an even harder time than he expected trying to keep up with Yumi. Her larger fans let her glide from pillar to pillar, leaving Ulrich dodging and deflecting fan throws whenever she stopped to attack. He didn't want to risk behind knocked out of the sky during a jump, so for the moment he was stuck on one pillar, blocking attacks.

"Come on, Ulrich! I know you can get out of this." Even with the advantage Yumi only tried to encourage him. "You've been in tougher spots that this! Just focus on your next move."

"Hard to do," grunted Ulrich, "with you…trying to…decapitate me!"

Yumi smiled before throwing fans again, "Aw Ulrich," she called, "you know you'd hate it even more if I went easy on you." Ulrich tried to hide a small smirk; she was right. He thought over his options: his Over-Bike was out of the picture, and since Yumi's attacks weren't energy based he couldn't absorb them to do an Impact Wave. He had Triplicate but couldn't see how it would help. But it was all he had left though, so…

"Triplicate!"

His doppelgangers appeared at his sides, one immediately began blocking Yumi's fans for him – leaving him to try to come up with a plan with…himself. This was weird; usually he used his clones very briefly – he never really talked to one before…and he didn't have to. It was as if they had one mind, but were using it twice as fast. They didn't need to speak, and a second later a plan was formed. While the first clone was still dodging attacks, Ulrich grabbed his other double by the arms and began to swing him around in a tight circle before finally sending him flying towards Yumi, swords drawn. She was forced to halt her attack in order to defend herself, the clone landed next to her and the two began engaging in close quarters combat. Meanwhile, Ulrich and his other double started to flank her, leap by leap.

"So, do you guys talk?" asked Yumi, still fighting the Ulrich clone.

"Yeah," its reply startled her, "well,_ I_ talk."

"You mean only _you_ talk?" she asked, they were still fighting,

"No, I mean…I'm Ulrich. We all are, or I am…it's really weird. It's like I'm whichever one I need to be and the rest work on autopilot, but they're all me. When one goes down I feel it, but then I just switch to another and keep going – unless it's my main body."

"So are you the real Ulrich now, or a double?" she huffed, getting tired.

"Why spoil the surprise?" a voice said, Yumi ducked just another Ulrich swung from behind – nearly decapitating his own double. Now she was trapped between the two of them, deflecting both their attacks with her fans. On another pillar, the 3rd Ulrich watched, waiting for an opening to attack. "Don't take it take it too personally…" said the first double.

The other added, "…I've been practicing." Another slice cut off just a few strands of her hair. She couldn't keep this up forever.

"You're not the only one who's been practicing!"

She threw one of her fans high into the air, drawing both Ulrichs' attentions to the sky. She grabbed the first one's arm and twisted it, then knocked the sword in his free hand away with her remaining fan. The Ulrich behind her got back in the fight and jabbed straight toward her with his swords. Yumi spun under the captive Ulrich's arm and out of the way, letting him be impaled by the double's attack. While they were both stunned she kicked the swords out of his hands and grabbed her fan as it fell, using it quickly on the stabbed Ulrich's throat . He fell to his knees choking, before vanishing into an orange mist. The other Ulrich made a run for his swords, but Yumi threw her fan and knocked the first one off the edge of the pillar. He tried to get her with a kick but she caught it, then sliced behind his knee with her other fan – he yelled in pain. He pulled his leg away and tried to reach the last sword. Yumi slid over to it and kicked it up and caught it, pointing it at him victoriously. The Ulrich tried to take a fighting stance but was wobbly on his bum leg. Just when he'd steadied himself, Yumi's fan fell from the sky and sliced straight down his back, causing him to cringe backward in pain. Immediately, Yumi struck him with his own sword; sending it straight through his chest. The double only sputtered as it fell over the edge and vanished in smoke. Only the real Ulrich was left standing, utterly astonished…and very excited.

"That…was _hot_."

Yumi chuckled naughtily, "You're next, handsome."

* * *

_Thank you for reading Code: Crisis - episode five - "The Tournament"_

**Next episode: "The Tournament – Part Two"**


	6. The Tournament Part Two

C o d e - C r I s I s

Episode 6

**T H E – T O U R N A M E N T**

Part Two

* * *

Aelita was in the maze, pacing. She didn't really want to fight any of her friends, but from what she heard through Jeremy, none of _them_ were having any problems with it. She knew William was in the labyrinth with her, and kept her eyes peeled. She was afraid of William. Back when he was the bad guy she would almost always be the last to fight him, when she did he would quickly overwhelm her and try to throw her in the digital sea. Ironically he was supposed to be a 'good guy' now and she was still running from him, just as afraid as before. Just then she heard rocks shuffling from behind, she turned and shot off an energy blast. It hit William right in the shoulder. If he was hurt he certainly didn't show it, he flinched only slightly.

"Huh…I seem to remember those having a bit more punch, eh Princess?" He held his sword threateningly as he slowly advanced towards her. "Don't know why I'm surprised," he added. "You always _were_ the weakest link!" With a roar he launched a Streak attack through the air towards her. She dodged it. He sent two more her way, but she charged an energy field in both hands and merged them together, but instead of throwing the orb she crushed it in her hands – exploding it into a force field around her body. The attack was absorbed.

"I'm not afraid of you, William."

She wasn't entirely sure if she believed herself, but her confidence was building. William just laughed.

"I don't need you to be _afraid _to beat you, just…be yourself." William launched streak after streak, each one wearing down Aelita's shield. Then with one final blow he shattered it like glass, sending Aelita flying back. With a flip she landed on her feet, then extended her hands towards William. He stopped and pulled up his sword, expecting an attack. Instead he heard a voice, singing. Then others joined in, like an entire choir of young men and women singing together in a loud, yet hauntingly beautiful harmony – the exact opposite of a X.A.N.A Shriek. Part of him was entranced by it, while another felt pained by it. He looked past his sword to see Aelita, on her knees with her hands together, like she was praying. She was singing gently, and all the voices seemed like they were coming from her. Soon the entire stadium began to shake as Aelita started to glow with a bright pink, misty aura.

"She may not be the most powerful, William," said Jeremy, "but she's certainly the most…_creative._"

William's eyes widened, it was Creativity! He didn't know what she was going to do, but it certainly wouldn't be good for him. Everything was shaking so violently he could hardly stand up, so much energy was coming off of Aelita he was being pushed back. Violent winds started to fill every corridor of the labyrinth. William jammed his sword into the earth to keep from flying away. But Aelita wasn't stopped, her singing grew louder and louder until things started breaking apart, huge chunks of wall started to fall off and get caught in the wind – blowing towards William at high speed. He pressed himself against the flat of his sword and stood firm as boulder after boulder shattered against it, but he was still losing ground. Finally he decided to take a chance, he pulled his sword out of the ground and started to walk towards Aelita. It was slow going; fighting the strong winds every step of the way wasn't easy. Every now and then he had to slice through a boulder that would fly at him out of seemingly nowhere. He was almost within sword length of Aelita when she suddenly opened her eyes and sung one last high note. She quickly raised her arms and just then the ground beneath William started to break loose. He thought he was going to fall, but it only sunk a little bit before suddenly rising as a magnificent pillar, carrying him high into the air – and it wasn't stopping.

Soon Aelita was just a speck in the distance as he continued to rise up into the air. Then he noticed it was starting to break apart, and then a huge spike shot out from just in front of him, then behind, his pillar was becoming a hazard! He leaped off and started falling back towards her, sword charging. But down below Aelita started sending more spikes shooting out of the earth to rise up at him. They weren't easy to dodge, he would spin out of the way of one only to have another rise right in his face, he'd just miss it and then spike would shoot out of its side, nearly impaling him. He soon found himself surround by spike pillars on all sides, each one shooting out spikes of its own at random to try and take him out. Any he couldn't dodge he'd slice through, and he continued his free fall towards Aelita. Down below she could see her plan wasn't working, so with another note she herself rose on a pillar of her own, speeding straight towards William. She charged two energy fields that she then merged into one, she charged in intensely before throwing it. William brought his sword up, ready to bat it away. But as soon as she had thrown it at him it started to glow bright white, before suddenly exploding into dozens of smaller, baseball sized energy fields. William wasn't sure what was happening - until they all started to detonate in rapid succession, he soon found himself falling through a serious of painfully potent, fiery explosions. Aelita lifted her hands in a pulling motion and the top of her pillar began to rip off. The tower stopped its it rising suddenly, sending Aelita and her personal platform skyrocketing towards the dark plumes of smoke. William shot out of the cloud, burned, but still standing.

"Is that it?" he shouted. They were speeding towards each other, about to collide. Aelita put her hands together and sung another note, charging her palms with energy. She focused it all into her right hand and with a loud yell plunged it into the rock. She summoned her wings and, straining with effort, hoisted the rock over until it was between her and William, then used her Creativity to cause spikes to sprout from the bottom. She was now wearing it like a giant spiked gauntlet, soaring towards him. William was worried now, but didn't show it. He charged another streak and shot it, but a pink force field appeared when it hit the rock – it dissipated, leaving the boulder intact.

"_Is that it?_" whispered Aelita, it was hard supporting the rock and she didn't know if William could even hear her, but it was satisfying anyway. William knew things were looking bad for him and tried to roll out of the way, but every time he did another pillar would shoot up from either sides, trapping him in the path of Aelita's attack. He was very impressed with her strategy, as well as her power, but he still had one more ace up his sleeve…he hoped. He let go of his sword and tried to summon it back, but instead of grabbing it he let it float at arms length away from him. Then, concentrating, he moved it beneath and set his feet on it – his plan was to use his influence over it to ride it like an Over-Board.

It worked.

"_**Yahoo!**_" he hooted, speeding upwards and away from the astounded Aelita. William now had a back-up vehicle all his own. _But no weapons_ thought Aelita. She pulled her hands out of the rock and dropkicked it towards William with all her might. It wouldn't catch him, but provide an ample distraction as she flanked around…

William was tied up in his new discovery, grinding the sides of the pillars while dodging their spikes and escaping Aelita's spike ball was just too much fun. The rock pillars were starting to close in around him, sprouting more and more spikes in an attempt to crush him. He was making his way towards the top when Aelita appeared, looming at the end of the vertical tunnel with an energy ball charged and ready. With so many spikes surrounding him there was little room to maneuver. It seemed his only options were either to get crushed by the tunnel or blown to digital bits by Aelita. He decided to go with option 'C'. He jumped off his sword and grabbed it by the hilt, using his influence on it to continue carrying him upwards towards Aelita. When he picked up enough speed he let go and started to fall, but the sword kept heading for her. She was forced to cancel her attack in order to dodge it, and watched it as it continued to fly upwards. Meanwhile William was making his way quickly up the tunnel, leaping from spike to spike until he finally blasted out of the hole. By the time Aelita noticed him it was too late and he was holding her tightly from behind. She could still fly, but she saw that the sword had stopped soaring and was now falling towards them – still fully charged.

"What are you doing?" she screamed, panicked.

"I was wrong," William replied. "You aren't weak. In fact you may be the strongest out of all of them. And I'm sorry for the way I've been acting…to all of you!"

Aelita was stunned, she wasn't sure what to say.

"But," he added grinning, "you're still gonna lose!" He grabbed her wings right at base where they came out of her back. They were made of her energy, but still tangible – it hurt to touch them, but William hung on. He pulled himself up and propped his feet against her, still holding her wings. She could flap just enough to keep them level, but it was very painful to do so while he had her like this. William looked up – the sword and nearly reached them, and at the last second he let go and leaped off of Aelita's back. His sword fell straight through, cutting her wings off clean. She gasped sharply in pain, then started to fall into the very trap she'd made for William. He grabbed his sword and levitated over her as she fell into the tunnel. All the spikes ringed around it made it look like a great beast's maw – and it acted much to that effect. Aelita was destroyed.

Yumi and Ulrich had been fighting when Aelita and William's duel started. At first they didn't pay it much mind, but as more and more of Dry Run began to crack and shift, their opinions changed. They decided on a truce, and went to investigate. It was hard to get close with all the falling and rising pillars of jagged rocks in their way, they only managed to catch brief glimpses of them in combat as they neared the stadium. By the time it was all over that labyrinth had turned from an architectural masterpiece to almost a completely flat, rocky landscape, strewn with massive chunks of pillars across its surface. It wasn't a maze anymore, but there were still plenty of places to hide – they couldn't see William. Side by side, Yumi and Ulrich surveyed the wasteland.

"Wow," she said, "I can't believe William beat Aelita. Before you guys got here she'd told me about some of her upgrades." Ulrich nodded in agreement.

"I couldn't see much, but this place is a wreck…so it must've been good."

"He got Odd, too," she added, "and _he_ had Foresight. How do you think William pulled it off?"

Ulrich scoffed, "He probably cheated."

"How do you cheat Foresight?" shrugged Yumi, Ulrich was silent. He didn't want to answer and tried to change the subject.

"So, is the truce still on?" he asked her.

"I don't know," she sighed, "William seems pretty tough. But all his battles were one-on-one, so it wouldn't technically be fair to gang up on him. But…" she said slyly, "if you don't think you can take him. I'd be more than happy to lend you a hand." Ulrich grinned, then leaped far from Yumi. He drew his swords and stood ready to fight. She had her answer.

"Let's end this quick," she said, "I've been dying to give William a piece of my mi…"

She stopped mid-sentence, Ulrich didn't know quite what to make of it – she looked…stunned.

"Ulrich," she called out suddenly, "look out! It's William!" Ulrich turned about quickly, swords ready. He glanced at all the broken rocks, looking for William's angle of attack, but couldn't see anything out of place – and William was rarely subtle.

"Where?" he asked, "I don't see him!" Behind him Yumi had fallen to knees, clutching her chest in pain.

"_No…_" she wheezed, "_here…!_" Ulrich watched in shock as a line of light crossed her midsection – she'd by cut in half, and devirtualized. After she vanished William burst out of the ground as Super Smoke and pointed his sword menacingly at Ulrich.

"I _can_ be subtle!" he said, feigning insult, "I just choose not to be…most of the time."

"You bastard!" screamed Ulrich. William just rolled his eyes.

"Oh give me a break already. When you do it it's just fun and games, but when I do it I'm an evil mastermind? Doesn't that seem just a little bit much to you?"

"You stabbed her in the back!" Ulrich was quick to point out.

"Yes, yes I did," said William, not the least bit ashamed, "just like I would've shut X.A.N.A down years ago back when he was contained in the supercomputer. Because when I have an advantage, I take it!" William flourished his blade and started walking towards Ulrich.

"You don't like me, I get that. But guess what? I HATE you, because you guys didn't destroy X.A.N.A when you had the chance. Now thousands of people have died, and more are sure to follow."

"We couldn't just shut him down," said Ulrich, "we had to…"

"Right, right, right. _Aelita_: The innocent bystander trapped inside. I don't know about you, but I think the future of humanity is worth at least one person." Ulrich gritted his teeth.

"Are we going to fight or what?"

William made the first move. Sword low and charging, he started running towards Ulrich. Ulrich super sprinted around and threw a sword at him from behind, William deflected it at returned fire with a sword streak attack. Ulrich dashed at him at slid under the energy wave, catching his sword in the process. Still sliding he tried to slice at William's leg, but he turned into super smoke just before it could connect. He stood up and looked around. William was still in his smoke form, circling him like a shark, so he decided to go on the offensive.

"Triplicate!"

The three Ulrichs charged the smoky trail. William couldn't emerge; if he attacked the wrong Ulrich the other two would finish him off. He retreated, speeding across the landscape with the Ulrichs sprinting in pursuit. He went up the side of a rock and materialized, quickly shooting off another streak. The first two Ulrichs dodged it, the third blocked with is swords and absorbed it.

"What happened to one-on-one?" asked William. An Ulrich sneered.

"You play to win, so do I."

William grinned and quickly shot off a blast at the Ulrich who responded, but it disappeared in an orange cloud – a fake.

"Nice try," said the second Ulrich "3 years ago that would've worked."

The third stepped forward, "…but I've improved since then."

William didn't hang around. He smoked into the ground and sped away right under their feet. They quickly pursued. He tried to put some distance between himself and the Ulrichs. When he was far enough away he shot out of the ground and reformed just long enough to launch another sword streak. One Ulrich dodged it, the other used its sword to absorb the attack. William was confused. Before, his attacks would've cleaved through almost any defense – now they were just getting him in even more trouble. He sunk into the ground again and tried to flee, the Ulrich who dodged the attack was already far in the way of his escape route, holding his swords high over his head. William reformed and checked behind him, the other Ulrich was doing the same thing – he didn't know what was going on until…

"Impact…!"

"…Wave!"

The Ulrichs slammed their swords into the ground simultaneously, sending two massive waves of bright orange energy ripping through the ground straight for William. They were coming so fast there wasn't any time to roll out of the way, and even if he went Smoke they would probably blow him right out of the ground. Then he remembered his new sword trick. He charged it with energy, aimed it up, and with a quick jump let it carry him into the sky by his arm. The energy waves collided in a huge explosion of rocks and force, it shattered his concentration and left him spiraling out of control up and away from the blast. He leveled out and shot two streaks in rapid succession; one for each Ulrich. They dodged them and started speeding around under William in a tight circle, increasing speed with each revolution. He was falling, but as he neared the Ulrichs he found himself slowed by a strong wind, and soon he was rising again! The doubles had created a tornado and he was stuck in it – spinning wildly and flying upward yet again. Once it had grown strong enough to sustain itself they stopped running, charged jumps and leapt far up into the winds, disappearing as beams of light into it's spin. Will was still spinning, but he could see the Ulrichs' silhouettes orbiting him, and when one leapt in to strike he managed to deflect it. It continued on like that for almost a minute; each Ulrich taking turns striking at him, faster and faster as he spun in the whirling storm. William was getting tried (and dizzy), and got sloppy; letting several hits connect.

Finally the tornado started to die, and the Ulrichs turned back to normal and fell to earth. William hung in the sky for a bit, battered and scarred, before he too started to fall as the Ulrichs watched. They didn't try to strike him – they just let him hit the ground, leaving a sizable crater when he did. When the dust cleared, however, he was still alive, and struggled to his feet. Ulrich was impressed.

"Not bad," said the double, "but you're still not good enough to beat X.A.N.A."

William punched the ground, maybe Ulrich was right…

"…Neither am I, actually." William was stunned. He didn't expect him to say _that._ Ulrich continued, "None of us are good enough to beat X.A.N.A _alone_, William. We only even got close working as a team, and if you want to be a part of that _team_, that's fine by me. But if you're still doing this for the wrong reasons…"

Williams hid his face, he considered his reasons: fame, revenge, glory…it wasn't exactly a hero's list of motivations. Ulrich sighed, "…Then you should leave now." William sat silently in his crater, thinking deeply. From the first day he started fighting it had all been nothing but a video game to him. Even now, with all his talk of lives lost, he was still just thinking of himself. He felt like he'd been still been possessed for all these years, by anger and the drive for revenge. Part of him did really want to be their friend, and to help them save the world…but he hadn't been listening to it, until now. He stood up faced Ulrich, determined.

"I'm ready to be a member of this team, Ulrich, I know I am. And I promise I won't let any of you down again."

Ulrich nodded, smiling.

"I also know," he added, "that I can kick your scrawny ass any day of the week." And he charged his sword. Ulrich grinned.

"Try it."

William gripped his sword with both hands, charging it with as much energy as he could muster. Ulrich fused back into one and braced himself, the power was so great his swords were charging from it – he had to take a few steps back. Then William sighed deeply, and all of the aura surrounding his blade rose up its face like a ripple and focused into a small sphere of intense energy, hovering just above the tip of his blade. He jumped out of the crater and landed behind Ulrich on the level ground. He held his sword pointed at Ulrich and pulled back his other hand as if he were going to punch the hilt right in the bottom, Ulrich concentrated and focused his own charged energy in a similar way, generating two shining points of light and the ends of his swords. He held them on his right side, pulled back and ready to strike. They stared each other the eyes.

William sighed, "Good fight." Ulrich nodded gently.

"You too. IMPACT!!"

"POINT BLANK!!"

Ulrich thrust his swords just as William punched his blade towards him. All three swords met point to point, the energy surging against each other and shining brilliantly. The force was tremendous; their arms trembled trying to hold on to it. They could barely see each through the blinding light, but each knew that they'd just done something really stupid. A sudden concussive blast sent them both flying, leaving only a large bright sphere of pure energy, glowing alternatively blue and orange. William swallowed.

"This can't be good."

Suddenly the sphere turned almost completely black, and started shooting off bolts of dark purple lightning in all directions – blowing of pieces of rock and tearing through the ground around them. All the bits it knocked loose were sucked into it, where they exploded on the surface in blue data mists. It was some kind of digital singularity, and it was growing fast. The sky darkened and all around them Dry Run looked like it was breaking apart right down to the code. As the singularity grew, bigger and bigger pieces of land were sucked into it – obliterated. William and Ulrich held on by their swords, but the dark orb's expansion was nearing them at a dangerous speed. Ulrich sighed.

"Jeremy's gonna be pissed."

"…Got that right!" the genius called out, "I'm bringing you out now." And the two devirtualized just before the void could envelop them. A moment later they were back in the scanner room, human and alive. The hunched over, catching their breath, and stared at each other…then pounded fists.

-

"Well, I hope you two are satisfied," Jeremy groaned, "I'm still not sure quite how you did it, but you created some kind of 'Virtual Null' – basically a gravitational delete button – right in the center of Dry Run, and it is currently collapsing in on itself. Thanks for that, it only took me 39.4 hours to write." Aelita hugged him; he was so cute when he got angry. Jeremy sighed, "Alright," he asked, "I think you all did quite well, all of you. You mastered new terrain, tried new techniques, and I can say without a shadow of doubt that you've all vastly improved since last time. As for you, William…"

Ulrich stepped forward, "I think he's ready. Odd?" Odd perked up nervously,

"Uh…well…he's tough, I gotta give him that. And still pretty fun to beat up, which is always a plus. Princess, what do you think?"

Aelita looked thoughtfully, "I think William is very powerful, and has great potential as a Lyoko warrior…if he can learn to put his personal feelings aside and focus on the mission at hand."

"…Like you guys?" said William, spitefully. He quickly cringed back; he shouldn't have said that. Yumi spoke next,

"If you ask me he hasn't changed a bit," she huffed, "he's still the same arrogant showoff he was three years ago."

"But I'm cute, right?" William grinned. He winced – shouldn't have said that either. Yumi sneered at him.

"Don't get me wrong," said Ulrich, "I'm not in love with the guy or anything. But we can't just make this decision based on a bad personality (no offense, Will), and it's not like he's the only one here who's been 'under the influence', right?" Jeremy and Aelita nodded, William wasn't the only friend X.A.N.A had ever turned against them.

"Looks like you're all but in, William."

"Wait," said Yumi, "I thought the decision had to be unanimous?"

"This isn't a clubhouse, Yumi," shouted Jeremy, slamming his fist, "it's a strike force, and I'm in charge. We need more firepower and there are no other options, so I'm making an executive decision. If you don't like it, YOU can leave!"

The room was silent, no one was used to Jeremy being quite so…loud. "Now listen up," he added, "we've all been very busy, and most major forms of communications have been either shut down or heavily controlled since the Shriek. But I've been monitoring this from here and I'm afraid the news isn't good…there have been more Shriek attacks." Everyone gasped.

"Where?" asked William.

"Everywhere, all over Europe. Anywhere there's sufficient technology for X.A.N.A to reach. One bit of news is that each attack seems to be weaker and shorter than the last."

"Is X.A.N.A running out of power?" asked Yumi.

"No such luck. The truth is the Shriek is diminishing in power because it's coming _from _somewhere; one particular point. It emits from that location, causing every sound device it touches to become a weapon of X.A.N.A., the further it goes, the weaker it's signal becomes. I picked up on it when I charted the locations of the attacks – the weaker they get, the further they are from the first; the one on our city."

"So…" added Aelita, "you should be able to use this chart to plot where the signal originated from initially!"

"Exactly! I finished the calculations and found the Replika he used to launch the attack."

"There's only one?" asked Ulrich suspiciously.

"Yes, it's very strange," said Jeremy, "I'm sure there are more, but X.A.N.A is masking them somehow."

"I don't like it," said Odd, "it sounds like a trap to me. After all, if he'd masked this one he could keep attacking and we'd never find it."

"Not true, Odd," Jeremy explained, "this Replika was masked as well, I found it by charting the attack patterns, remember?" Odd nodded.

"So when do _we_ attack?" asked William eagerly.

"Tomorrow," answered Jeremy. "The Skid updates are complete, with the Replika's location locked in. The scanners will charge tonight so be ready in the morning. Everyone got their excuses ready?"

Ulrich nodded, "Soccer practice."

"A martial arts class at Ulrich's dojo," said Yumi, "the teacher agreed to cover for me, no questions asked."

"I'll be getting tutored," sighed Odd, "and that's not even an excuse, it's totally legit."

"Fortunately," Aelita smiled, "I'll be the one doing the tutoring."

"Excellent," said Jeremy, "get a good night's sleep everyone, tomorrow things really get started."

-

William was walking alone, he and the gang had split up some time ago to get home. Jeremy and Aelita were still at the factory making last minute checks to the Skid program. He felt proud that he was back on the team, but even more satisfying was getting his friends back again, though he wasn't exactly sure how Sissi was going to take it. This made him feel a little ashamed; after he and Sissi had gotten together after the shutdown 3 years ago, he told her all about Lyoko – betraying the team's trust yet again. To her credit she took it well, and was happy enough at finally being vindicated (not crazy) to keep from blabbing to anyone – like the media. Though William did have to convince her that even though she'd been right in her suspicions, there was no way she could get anyone else to believe her. He wondered how they would take it if they found out. Then again, another able-bodied person who knew of Lyoko could be an ally if…nah, Sissi in Lyoko? He laughed and unlocked the door to his house with hidden key; his parents were probably asleep and he didn't feel like making up any excuses.

As soon as he entered a wave of nausea washed over him, just like when he entered the scanner. This was much stronger, though, it didn't build up at all; he felt like he had to throw up immediately. He closed the door and rushed as quietly as he could to the bathroom, he hung over the toilet and proceeded to puke his guts out…quietly, of course. He wiped his mouth with tissue and flushed it. He felt a little better, but not much, and now his head was hurting. He didn't know what was wrong, then he looked in the mirror.

It wasn't him, it was who he used to be. It was a reflection of himself three years ago; a little shorter, hair a bit messier, but what stood out above all was the Lyoko warrior outfit he wore – red and black battle armor with a spiked gauntlet; his slave fatigues. William was scared and confused, what was happening? When he looked down he almost screamed – now _he_ was wearing the suit, and the William in the mirror was wearing his normal clothes, looking just as terrified as he was. Suddenly the whole room started to shake and shiver like his house had been caught in it's own private earthquake. The world in the mirror behind the scared William faded to black, and he was suddenly pulled away by some unseen force, flying away into the darkness, screaming. The real William was left alone, everything breaking apart around him until he too was left floating in darkness. Then it hit him; this was just like it had been right after he destroyed Lyoko through Carthage – floating in infinity, wearing the armor X.A.N.A made for him, waiting for orders from his new master.

"What's going on?!" he shouted into the abyss. Red light bathed over him from behind, he turned to see an enormous eye of X.A.N.A gazing at him. Behind it he could see a immense mechanical form, but the light made it nearly impossible to make out anything specific. It looked like a series of huge cogs and gears, like a clock, along massive tubes and wires flowing with blood red energy. They were all enveloped in shadow for the most part, with only an eerie red glow behind to highlight the shape, but the main attraction was the eye.There was no denying who he was facing, this WAS X.A.N.A, as he chose to be seen.

"_It…is…MINE…_"

His voice was deep, reverberating and mechanical, dominating all of the space and shaking every bone of William's body.

"_Return…it…to…ME!_"

William had no idea what he was talking about, but apparently that was all X.A.N.A had to say. He was sucked into the light, and an instant later he was in bed, sweating profusely. He checked the clock…it was already morning, he'd have to meet the team at the factory soon.

So much for a good night's sleep.

* * *

_Thank you for reading Code: Crisis - episode six - "The Tournament – Part Two"_

**Next episode: "Renaissance - Man"**


	7. Renaissance Man

C o d e - C r I s I s

Episode 7

**R E N A I S S A N C E - M A N**

Part One

* * *

Everything was in order. All the members of the team had their excuses laid out for the whole day, with plenty of trusted allies to vouch for them – just in case. Of course none of that would do them any good if they got their data scattered across the internet and never returned, but that was just a chance they'd have to take. Aelita had gone home to Hermitage late the night before, while Jeremy stayed at the factory to finish up the final tests on the Skid. He promised it would be much improved over the original, and the gang had high hopes. Other than the Shrieks, none of them had any idea what to expect of X.A.N.A in terms of enemies or tactics, but if the Goliath Krabe Jeremy designed for them in Dry Run was any indication…they were in for the fight of their lives. Together as a team; Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, Aelita and William walked dutifully towards the factory – like astronauts preparing for launch. Aelita was nervous, but careful not to show it. Like Jeremy, the rest of the team would often look to her as a leader, another 'Einstein'. If she was panicking then they'd think something was very wrong, so she did her best to keep a straight, sure-looking face. Odd was ecstatic. He was a pretty good athlete in the real world, but his stint in Dry Run had gotten him hooked on Lyoko again. He couldn't wait to go shredding through X.A.N.A robots, hordes at a time. Ulrich was almost as nervous as Aelita, but just a determined not to show it. Yumi could pick up on it though, and took his hand in hers. She smiled at him. He tried not to smile back, but it ended up looking like he flubbed a sneeze. Whatever X.A.N.A had for them, they would face it together.

William was petrified.

He was scared out of his wits, and he wasn't doing a good job of hiding it either. Fortunately the others had their minds busy on other things and didn't notice. It was the nightmare he had last night after they finished in Dry Run. X.A.N.A had spoken to him, asking him to return something of his back to him. William had no idea what it meant, but it was so vivid, so terrifying. He didn't tell the others, he was afraid they'd think X.A.N.A was really contacting him again. They'd kick him out of the group again for sure, _if _they were lenient. Chances were they might think he'd been under X.A.N.A's influence the entire time, trying to gain their trust to trap them when they got to the Replika. He didn't even tell Sissi (not that she would care much anyway). He called her as he left his house that morning to tell about the mission. He tried not to play up the whole 'fate of the world' angle, but couldn't help dropping a few hints when she seemed a bit too apathetic. Usually he could tell when she really didn't care about something and when she was just pretending not too, but anything regarding Lyoko or the team really didn't seem to pique her interest. As they approached the entrance their friend, Jean Aíme, was just stepping out. He was reading a thick book of poetry from an large assortment of authors, he gazed up and frowned at the grim expressions on their faces.

_"Ah, mon Dieu_," he sighed, "you kids look like you're going to a funeral."

"With any luck we will be," quipped Odd, "the bad guy's, that is." They continued past him. Jean just shrugged, he knew enough not to ask questions. They got to the elevator and went down to the operations room where Jeremy was waiting. He didn't face them at all. He just kept typing into the computer, monitoring the screens. They waited for him to say something, _anything_, but he remained silent. Aelita took a step forward.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked concisely, "Get to the scanners."

Odd whispered to Ulrich, "_No time for long good-byes, I guess._" No one else made a move and waited for Aelita to step back into the lift, but she wasn't going to be intimated so easily. Before Jeremy even knew what was going on she rushed up to him turned the chair around and kissed him passionately, the others found themselves staring off in other directions awkwardly – it took quite a while for her to finish. Finally she pulled away, still holding Jeremy by the shirt she gazed deeply into his dazed eyes.

"I love you," she said, in no uncertain terms. Jeremy could only mumble. He raised a quivering hand to straighten his glasses, then cleared this throat.

"I…" he said slowly, trying his best to keep looking 'smart' "love you too." Aelita smiled,

"Now wish us luck, damn it."

"Good luck."

"Great, we'll see you later."

She straightened her hair a bit, and walked professionally back into the lift. "Odd, the scanners please."

Odd grinned, "Right away, Princess." The lift doors closed and they started down to the scanner level. Yumi sighed, crossed her arms and turned to Ulrich."How come _you _never do anything like that?" she huffed.

Ulrich rolled his eyes. "Don't start."

-

Odd, Ulrich and Yumi were virtualized first. William and Aelita were right after them. They all appeared right in the hanger. No more tripping through Carthage.

"What?" whined Odd, "We skipped the sliding elevator thingy?"

Jeremy rolled his eyes, "We're kind of in a hurry, Odd."

"_But I __**liked **__the sliding elevator thingy…"_

"ODD!"

"Right! Sorry, let's go! 'Yoo-hoo, it's us' time!"

"_What _did you say?" asked Ulrich,

"Oh come on, don' t tell me you forgot 'Yoo-hoo, it's us' time?"

"I can _vaguely_ remember a really, _really_ bad catchphrase. But the memory is so faint…"

"Har har, everyone's a critic…"

"Can we focus, please?" said Aelita. "Jeremy, bring up the Skid."

The hangar was like a cavern, in the center was a deep glowing pit which housed the Skidbladnir; their vessel for traveling through the digital sea. Jeremy built it to allow them to hunt down X.A.N.A's Replikas during their first 'engagements'; it would serve much the same purpose now. Jeremy pressed a button and a moment later the team were teleported into the Skid's stations: Aelita in the cockpit, with Ulrich, Yumi, Odd and William in the Nav Skids. He took a moment to let it sink in…X.A.N.A had made him his own personal Nav before to hunt the others down, but this was the one made for him that he never got to use. The Skid had two modes. One vertical where the Navs hung under the main cockpit, in this mode the Skid would submerge into the Digital Sea and interface with towers – and a second, horizontal stage where it would cruise at high speeds and dispatch the Navs for combat. Currently they were in the vertical mode, standing upright in their Navs. Slowly the Skid began to descend, while the crew tried to get the feel of their craft again. The Navs looked much more thickly armored than before, with more powerful looking thrusters to boot. Each one was a bit more streamlined as well as more personal to each pilot as well. Yumi's had dark red flares of color on the sides and roof, Ulrich's cockpit and thrusters had orange highlighting each seam of armor, Odd enjoyed the jagged purple triangles lining the roof of his Skid, and William had thin blue lines crisscrossing like DNA strands along the sides of his.

"So Jeremy," asked Yumi "what can you tell about this Replika? What sector is it based on?"

"Bad news," he answered. "As far as I've been able to tell it's brand new. I haven't been able to get a clear picture of it, but the data is nothing remotely similar to the other sectors. Even Dry Run pales in comparison, as far as complexity of code goes."

"So you have no idea what we're in for?"

"Well the data is very tightly packed, surprisingly tight for a Replika since, after all, they're only supposed to house small portions of X.A.N.A's program so that destroying one would do minimal damage to his total self. Perhaps his program is so powerful now even the Replikas are more intricate, but it's the _level_ of intricacy that's so…terrifying."

"How bad could it be?" shrugged Odd as the Skid started to pick up speed, "Hey Einstein, shouldn't we be in our own Replika? To get into the Digital Sea?"

"No time, and no need. The Internet is a big place, Odd, this process bypasses the traditional route in order to bring us closer to our goal. There is some sort of buffer keeping us from getting as close as I would've liked, but it did make it a bit easier to find in the first place. I'd explain but, we both know you don't really care about that, do you?"

"And here I was thinking you didn't know me at all."

Jeremy chuckled, "It's all set, everyone ready to get wet?"

Ulrich nodded, "Make it so."

As they were falling, the tunnel had been getting brighter and brighter, until suddenly they hit the Sea. It felt as if they'd been airdropped into a real ocean, only without the splash, just a feeling of strong impact. Odd had shut his eyes (he'd never admit it, though). He opened them when he heard Aelita gasp.

"Oh my God."

The whole of the Sea was a deep, bloody red. Before it would always be a pleasant, airy blue until X.A.N.A became active to attack them. Even when he did it would look more like the Internet had entered a red alert status than anything else. But this was different, the 'water' looked as if it had actually been stained red; they could barely see 10 feet outside their windows. In what they could only assume was the distance they could make out the faint shapes of the 'buildings' that made up the Internet, hanging like upside-down skyscrapers, each giving off a dim red glow. Before they would always look smooth and clean, even in the X.A.N.A state, but now they all seemed to be broken and withered. Crooked shapes were highlighted through the murky sea, with large and small pieces constantly falling off left and right.

"This is unbelievable!" gasped Aelita, "How could X.A.N.A have gained this much power and influence in such a short time?"

"He did it slowly," Jeremy explained, "his files hid themselves to well for my programs to detect, and like a virus they used the files they hid on to multiply themselves at an astounding rate. Their numbers increased dramatically after we shut down the computer, but each piece never had enough power by itself to make a scene. When he finally started piecing them together he was 10 times stronger than before, and doing this was a piece of cake."

"But I thought you said X.A.N.A couldn't be sentient in that form?" asked Ulrich, "How did he get his consciousness back?"

"And what triggered them all in the first place?" added Yumi.

"I don't have any definite answers yet, just theories. One possibly is that someone activated it from the outside, remotely."

Odd was dumbfounded, "Whoa, you mean someone actually _turned him on_? Who would work with X.A.N.A?"

There was a brief silence in the Skid. William sighed, Odd's face turned bright red.

"I mean, who would _knowingly _work with X.A.N.A? Mind control doesn't count, of course!"

"Everyone," said Aelita, "I'm detecting something on radar. Activating lights." She turned on the lights of the Skid, it didn't help much, and their eyes had just finished adjusting to the glow from the towers. It did give them a better view of their immediate surroundings; the buildings were indeed decrepit, but now they could see what looked like black ink eating away at them like acid. Aelita made sure to stay far enough away to keep any from getting on the ship.

"Aelita, what did you find? Monsters?" asked William.

"I believe so, and there seems to be a great deal of them between us and the Replika."

"Well where are they?" shouted Odd, excited, "We'll detach and take 'em out! I figure a couple of us can keep them busy while the other two cover you to the Replika."

"Wow," gasped Ulrich, "Odd? Actually planning something? There must be a draft in Hell today."

Odd grinned. "Don't be hatin', man."

"The sensors place them below us. They don't seem to be heading for us, just moving ahead. We could pass over them all the way to the Replika."

"No good, Aelita," said Jeremy, "the Replika is just below whatever those things are. We may not have to fight them, but we will have to pass through them. I recommend moving slow and silent, lights off, use the sensors to guide you and I'll help from here."

"Roger."

Aelita turned down the engines until they were only humming quietly, and then turned off the lights. With a deep breath, she started their descent. They couldn't see _anything_! Jeremy and the Skid's sensor systems were their only eyes, and they were getting closer and closer to whatever was keeping them from the Replika. Soon they were right in the middle of whatever flock of creatures they had detected before, but the still couldn't see or hear anything.

"_Jeremy?_" whispered Aelita.

"_You're on the same level as the Replika, so just keep heading forward and you should reach it about eight minutes, at this speed. I'll guide you around whatever these things are._"

"_Do you have any idea what they are?_"

"_Now that we're close, the sensors are giving me more information._"

"_And?_"

"_They're __**big**__._"

"_How big?_"

"_**Colossal.**_"

As if on cue a massive eye of X.A.N.A, big as the ship from end to end, opened on their left side, followed by a loud, low moan – like whale song. Aelita was speechless, the entire gang was speechless.

"What do think the chances are," whispered Odd, "that they're just giant eyes and nothing else?" Boldly, Aelita turned on all the ship's lights and focused them at the eye. Letting out another moan, the creature blinked and leaned away from the Skid, letting them finally get a look at it. Odd sank in his seat. "I really gotta learn when to shut up." The beast was an immense Krakken; a giant squid. It was nowhere near as mechanical or rigid as the last squid creature of X.A.N.A's they'd fought years ago. This one looked almost organic, but with circuit-board-like markings all over it's body. It's 'head' was the most artificial looking part; a giant metal shell and another, small eye glowing on the top. She couldn't count all the tentacles, but there were at least a dozen, not including the two extra long graspers that extended far out of her range of vision. The Krakken rocked from side to side, as if to shake it's head straight. It opened it's eyes again and the X.A.N.A pupil shrunk menacingly to a thin slit on the slimy black surface of the cornea.

"Princess?" whimpered Odd, "I think you pissed it off!"

Aelita jammed her foot on the accelerator, "Engaging thrusters! Full power!" As the jetted away the Krakken let out another loud roar that shook the entire Sea around them, it seemed to send out a pulse of energy that radiated through the Skid as passed on into the darkness, no doubt communicating to the others. After it passed through the ship, they could all hear a slight ringing in their ears. Aelita wondered that if that sound had been made out of water it might sound very similar to a Shriek attack, but there was no time to theorize now. They were speeding through the abyss, blind as bats, weaving through the reaching tentacles of the school of Krakken. The Replika was close and the monsters' movements were slow, but she tried not to be reckless. Ahead of them one Krakken released an enormous could of black ink from its mouth, and it rose up into their flight path.

"That's the acid!" Ulrich realized, "Don't go through it!" Aelita rolled the ship at the last second and avoided catching any of the deadly cloud. From what they saw before it wouldn't simply wash off with momentum, it would stick to and devour any part of their vessel it touched, spreading like an infection. More and more of the Krakken were releasing ink clouds, and black ink is really hard to dodge at high speeds in dark red water. They were getting dangerously close to passing the Replika all together, it was time to make their move.

"If this goes on," said Yumi, "they'll put a wall of ink between us and the Replika and we'll be stuck. Detach the Navs, Aelita!"

"What?" yelped Odd, "You don't think we can fight these things, do you? They could crush us in their eyelids!"

"Just trust me! Aelita, do it now!"

With a press of a button they were all released from the Skid and soared off in the direction of the Replika. As expected, a huge cloud of corrosive ink had formed between them and their destination, instead of rising up to the buildings like the others, it hovered right in their path growing larger and larger.

"We're running out of room, Yumi!" said William urgently, "What's the plan?"

"We'll use the torpedoes," she explained, "we'll each shoot one right into the center and detonate a path big enough for the Skid to pass through, then we'll have to reconnect fast before linking to the Replika."

"Sounds risky," noted Ulrich, "shouldn't we use all the torpedoes? Just to be safe."

"No, Ulrich. Remember, we have to get _out_ too."

"But what if it doesn't work…"

"There's no time to talk about it!" shouted Jeremy, "I've added a system to the Navs and the Skid that will devirtualize you back home if anything goes wrong, if it doesn't work we'll just have to try again another day. But right now you're running out of time! Do it now!"

"But if we made it we'd lose the Skid!" said Odd, "It'd take months for you too rebuild…"

"DO IT NOW!" shouted Jeremy, slamming his fist on his armrest. All at once the team shot one of their torpedoes at the cloud, the acid worked on them fast, causing them to detonate right at the center rather than passing through. A huge explosion blasted the ink out in all directions, leaving the team having to dodge the deadly corrosive missiles, but their plan worked! A clear path was made to the Replika. There was no time to slow down, the Krakken were already releasing more clouds of ink. Without stopping, the Navs carefully tried to attach themselves to the speeding Skid. Aelita activated the Key, the tool on the Skid that allowed them to enter X.A.N.A's Replikas. Jeremy had modified the Skid so that the Key could be used while moving, as well as fired like a laser from the front of the Skid and not just from the top. Odd, William and Ulrich attached without too much trouble, but Yumi was having a hard time reconnecting her Nav, and if she couldn't attach before they passed through the gate she would be destroyed entering the Replika. The Key was charged, and the Skid shot a beam of light right from it's nose at the port of the Replika, slowly the door began to open…this was going to be close. Around the outside of the portal they could see the ink closing in already to block their way.

"Yumi you have to link up now! I'm about to turn on the afterburners!" Aelita charged the turbo and held her finger tentatively over the ignition switch.

"What?" shouted Ulrich, "No! You can't! She'll be destroyed if we don't bring her in!"

"Don't worry," said Jeremy solemnly, "I can activate the devirtualizer before she enters the portal and she'll be brought back to earth, but you four must make it through!" Ulrich didn't like the idea at all, but they had little choice. The gate had full opened and the ink was almost completely surrounding the outside perimeter, Yumi pushed her Nav to the limits and latched on just as they passed through. Some of the ink tried to follow them in, but any little bit that tried was instantly incinerated, then the portal closed. They were finally inside.

* * *

_Thank you for reading Code: Crisis - episode seven - "Renaissance - Man"_

**Next episode: "Renaissance Man – Part Two"**


	8. Renaissance Man Part Two

C o d e - C r I s I s

Episode 8

**R E N A I S S A N C E - M A N**

Part Two

* * *

"Where are we?" asked William, the area they had entered looked much like the dock back home, except a bit darker and red rather than blue. It was shaped a bit differently. Their dock required the Skid to be in the vertical mode, here they could fit while still in the high speed travel mode. Unfortunately they didn't have the weightlessness they seemed to get while in the Sea, and for some of them being sideways and upside-down in their Navs was getting a bit tiresome.

"We'll find out when we get out," huffed Ulrich, "Aelita, if you don't mind?" After a few button presses the entire team, sans Aelita, were teleported out of the ship and into the strange new area.

"Jeremy," Yumi called, "what are our travel arrangements?"

"William, Ulrich, and Odd will go with Aelita to find the tower. I want you to stay with the Skid."

"By myself?"

"The dock you're in is very small, no room for surprises. But the spaces outside are giving some very complex data readings. Plus we don't know what to expect monster-wise, so Aelita gets the backup."

"Roger," nodded Ulrich, "let's go." Aelita transported Yumi into the cockpit of the Skid and herself out with the others.

"Wait!" said Odd, "I thought we needed the Skid to interface with the tower?"

"Only to control it," explained Jeremy, "I've given Aelita a program she can enter that will trigger a self destruct sequence. I'll give you about 1 minute longer than whatever it takes you to get there to reach the Skid and escape. If you don't make it I'll activate the devirtualization program." They all nodded in acknowledgement and headed towards the end of the dock to what looked like a hanger door.

"I'm just curious," said Yumi, "if you can devirtualize us remotely, why not do to the same thing to the Skid? Easier than replacing it, right?"

Jeremy shook his head, "Not that simple, I'm afraid. You are all human, you have a form to return to after devirtualization, the Skid doesn't. It simply gets deleted when it's destroyed. Even if I could rig some kind of 'safe destruct' sequence, it would only apply to the Skid, not you. If X.A.N.A got into the system again he could wipe out the Skid right from under you guys, leaving you adrift in the Digital Sea…at least until you detonated into millions of bits of data. And it was hard enough getting you guys out of there one and a time."

"Sorry," sighed Yumi, "It was just such a party, we couldn't resist."

"Brace yourselves," said Ulrich urgently, "we're about to go inside." Ulrich pressed a button next to the door and it lit up bright green. The door hissed and slowly began to work its way open. Ulrich stood to the left of the door, swords ready, William took a similar position on the right. Aelita and Odd got a safe distance away. Odd stood with both arms pointed straight at the opening door, arrows ready. Aelita was ducked behind him, charging an energy field. As the door opened they could see only bright light coming out of it, William took a bold initiative and quickly stepped in. Ulrich couldn't stop him in time and decided to follow. Together they found themselves standing inside an enormous

"…Church?" gasped William. That what it looked like. But not an ordinary modern-day church, it looked…old. With tall columns, beautifully engraved wooden seats and stained glass windows with rainbows of color filling them. He couldn't quite recognize the images they showed, but there did seem to be something oddly familiar about them.

"It's not a church, per se," said Jeremy, adjusting his glasses, "it's a cathedral. From the appearance I'd place it about mid-to-late 16th century, from Europe actually."

"_The Renaissance_…" whispered Aelita.

"Renaissance?" Odd raised an eyebrow, he tried the word on for size, "Hmm, _Renaissance_…That's a good name for this place. What's it mean, exactly?"

"It means 'Rebirth', but I wasn't naming it. The renaissance was a period of artistic and philosophic enlightenment in Europe, from between the 14th and 17th centuries, roughly. The cathedrals were just some of the many beautiful things made during that time."

"But why would X.A.N.A make one?" asked Ulrich, surveying the room. It _was_ beautiful. Everything looked like it was made of gold, the walls, the cloths and the columns. But gold wasn't the only color, everything was intensely detailed and sculpted with all sorts of deep reds, blues, whites, and greens woven in. Even the cracks in the floor looked deliberate and designed. It would have been wonderful if it weren't for the eye of X.A.N.A plastered over everything like bad advertising, or the cross. Like William, Ulrich couldn't quite make out what some of the painted glass pictures were trying to depict, but some were obvious. The first one he recognized was William being captured by X.A.N.A's Scyphozoa the first time. What made it interesting was how the instead of dark armor, it showed him being changed into some kind of radiant knight. It made sense, why would X.A.N.A make himself or his workers devils in their own church? The next was an image of the core of Carthage as it destroyed. William looked very 'heroic' as a painted glass portrait, looming over the core holding his sword high in the air victoriously. As he continued down the line could understand the story the pictures told. They chronicled all of their exploits…from X.A.N.A's perspective…in an almost religious light. He and the others were in many of them, but always as shadowy ghosts with empty eyes; demons trying to thwart his will. William was his 'messiah'; his agent sent to complete his work. Every picture of William showed his as some sort of glowing hero, valiantly braving the wretched Lyoko warriors. The more he saw, the more sick it made him – maybe Jeremy was right, from the looks of it X.A.N.A _did_ see himself as some sort of god.

Ulrich wasn't the only one bewildered; William wasn't quite sure how to take it at all. All this time he was sure X.A.N.A saw him as nothing but another disposable soldier, not some kind of white knight. For a second he almost considered being flattered, then he remembered whom it was paying the compliment.

Odd groaned, "This is messed up."

"…But it makes sense," said Jeremy, "if X.A.N.A really believes the new world order he'll create will be perfect, then that technically makes us the bad guys."

"But what's with all the imagery?" asked William, "All the angel and demon stuff? How can he do half the things he does if he knows the difference between right and wrong; good and evil?"

"If you're religious," explained Jeremy, "good and evil are relative. While there can be many general similarities, different religions have different definitions and standards of what's right and wrong. It would seem X.A.N.A has his own religion, so to speak; his own moral standard."

"Which is?"

"From what I understand, that the _ends_ justify the _means_ – if your goal is, supposedly, the ultimate nobility, than any act required to bring it about is just."

"Do you really believe that, Jeremy?" asked Aelita, quietly. Jeremy didn't answer; he wasn't sure. "You don't have to say anything," Aelita smiled, "you could've saved the world years ago just by pulling a switch but you didn't…for me." The whole team smiled. It was a very 'sweet' moment, until Jeremy said something that surprised them all.

He sighed, "…That doesn't mean it was the _right thing_ to do." Aelita gasped, but everyone was equally startled. Jeremy continued, "I've always told all of you that saving the world by stopping X.A.N.A took precedence over everything else, but when it counted _I_ was the one who backed down. Aelita, _please_ understand that I _love_ you, and even now I wouldn't change what I did then. But the fact remains that thousands are dead, and it's all on my head." Jeremy hung his head, the team stood quietly in the cathedral of Renaissance – even Aelita didn't know what to say. Fortunately, Odd did.

"You're _kidding_ me, right, Einstein?"

No one else dared speak. Odd rarely gave speeches…_important_ ones, anyway. "Jeremy," he sighed frustrated, "we we're in junior-freakin'-high school! _Teenagers,_" he laughed, "are NOT supposed to be saving the world! To be making…LIFE and DEATH decisions on a daily basis! It's like something out of a _cartoon!_" The team nodded in agreement. Jeremy raised his head, intrigued. "If someone else (hell, who am I kidding)…if ANYONE else had found the factory and Aelita BUT you they would've treated it like some video-game – Aelita could've ended up being some gross hobo's date-sim!" Aelita shuddered strongly; that was a _nasty _mental image. She was very naïve then – she didn't even know her real name! Who knows what some less scrupulous person could've conned her into believing? Jeremy felt equally unsettled by the idea. "But you, Jeremy," he continued, "_you_ stepped up to the plate. You _saved_ her, and then you did what you had to do to save _everyone! _So what if you fell in love? I've fallen in love more times than I can_ count _and _I'm_ still standing, aren't I?" William nodded, he too had something to say.

"Jeremy, X.A.N.A took advantage of you - and it hurts! _Believe_ me, I know. But all you've ever done, all you've ever _tried _to do is the right thing! You can't hold yourself responsible for what X.A.N.A does. He's not some rampaging animal you let loose, he an _intelligent_, living machine. He and he _alone _is responsible for those deaths, and we _will_ make him pay."

"Hear, hear!" said Yumi, communicating from the Skid. William blushed a little.

"Jeremy…" said Aelita softly, "you never ceased to amaze me with how well you were able to handle…everything! I loved you, but I knew the risks…and no matter what you chose to do I wouldn't have held anything against you…because I believed in you then, and I still do now."

"I gotta agree, buddy," added Ulrich, "all things considered, there's no one I'd rather have in that seat…than you." Jeremy was smiling from ear to ear; he could hardly contain himself…but managed to, except for a single tear. He knew no one could see him, but he wiped it away just as quick – the quiet sniffling he did afterwards gave it away, though – the team was nice enough not to tease.

"_Well_," he sighed deeply, still trying to sound 'in control', "I thank you all for that vote of confidence, but we _are_ kind of in the middle of an operation here so…let's try not to lose sight of _our _goals."

"Righty-O!" said Odd loudly, standing at attention like a soldier, "Where to next, General Einstein?"

"Ok," Jeremy pulled up a map on his screen, "I'm still having a hard time picking up data from inside…_Renaissance_, was it? But I am getting a strong tower signal from below your position. Is there some kind of basement opening anywhere inside the cathedral?" By this point the team was spread out well through the church, it was fairly wide, but very long – nearly rivaling a football field. The ceiling was quite high, as well. Painted on it was a mural – the colors were beautiful, the subject matter was not; yet another 'propaganda' drawing, it showed all of the _demonic _Lyoko warriors, even William, being blown away by an immensely bright, sun-like entity at the center. A vaguely humanoid shape could be seen standing in it, a golden eye of X.A.N.A on his chest.

Aelita scoffed with disgust, "I can't believe he really sees himself like that." At the end of the cathedral they saw what looked like a giant pipe organ, with many sets of keys, set against the wall. It had many tall and short golden pipes and keys so perfectly white and clean they almost seamed to glow. The wood was ornately engraved with elegant swerves and spirals, and little cherubs that looked as creepy as they did majestic – each had an eye of X.A.N.A as opposed to a face. In the center over the keys was another X.A.N.A eye, engraved in the wood. Jokingly, Odd sat in front of it and waving his hands over the keys.

"Hey Ulrich, what's you're favorite cereal jingle?"

Ulrich chuckled, "Uh…do you know the really old 'Rice Krispies' one?" Odd laughed.

"Nope, but I can make one up! _Oooooooooo…Snap! Crackle! POP…_" Odd crashed his fingers on the keys and the massive organ let out a mush of notes so loud it blew him of the seat and sent him sliding several feet back across the floor, he wheezed quietly "_Ouch._" Ulrich stood over him and shook his head, grinning.

"Way to go, Renaissance Man."

As Ulrich helped him up the organ began to rattle and shake violently. Soon the entire cathedral was rumbling as if they'd just started an earthquake, the columns began to shake as dust and debris started to fall from the ceiling. Escape was contemplated, but the second they started to back towards the exit the shaking stopped and quickly as it had begun.

"Well," quipped Odd, "that was weird."

"Keep your guard up," said William, holding his sword firmly, "remember, this isn't a _real _church anymore more than that's a _real _organ. It's not 'old', it's just symbolic representation of some function this place serves; that quake wasn't structural instability – X.A.N.A _changed_ something…and we're about to find out what."

Everyone stood in a circle, backs to each other, weapons drawn and surveying the situation. They were looking for any changes – anything at all out of place, and then Odd spotted it. One of the painted glass windows had changed from a X.A.N.A propaganda to a picture of Odd himself, sporting a cool pose. He immediately went over to check it out, studying his stained glass self with great interest.

"Odd," shouted Ulrich, "what are you doing? Stay in formation!"

"Look at this, it's me! And I look _good!_" He started to flex and pose in front of the picture, he winked at Aelita, who just rolled her eyes…until she noticed the pieces of glass that made up his picture were shifting around, creating a new and terrifying image.

"Odd! LOOK OUT!"

Odd didn't even bother looking back at the image, he just ducked as fast as he could. It was the nick of time, too, as a large black monstrosity burst out through the glass just over his head and scraped to a stop in front of the group. It looked like a big black dog, it had the face of a wolf but it was built like a bull. It had canine back legs but its front looked more like muscular human arms, but still with wolf-like paws and claws. It had sharp but shaggy hair, swept back, and plates of ornate, medieval looking armor on its shoulders, back, knees and arms. Strangest of all was it's face, it's teeth were blood red, and even though it had two eye sockets it had only one eye – glowing with the sign of X.A.N.A, the other hole just emitted a wispy black smoke. It growled at them all fiercely, Ulrich and William covered Aelita.

William whispered, "_What __**is**__ that_…"

"Hellhound!" shouted Odd, "And I came up with that right off the top of my head, too! I'm on a _roll_ today!" the Hellhound turned it's gaze towards Odd an started moving in for the kill, Odd just laughed and whipped up his gauntlets, ready to fire. "Bring it on, Snoopy." The monster reared back on its hind legs, but it wasn't just to threaten; it was standing up, and started punching its fist into its hand like a thug. At full height it was much taller than any of them and cast a dark shadow over the much less cocky Odd, "I have _got_ to shut up." Aelita pushed past William and Ulrich and shot an energy ball at the creature. Even though it was coming on the side the creature's 'bad' eye was on, the Hellhound detected it and ducked. After the ball had passed over its head Odd quickly ran forward and did a fast 'leapfrog' over it's back, the Hellhound turned around and swiped but Odd had already rolled out of the way. Before it could pursue, William was already upon it, ready to bring down his sword on its neck. It ducked down back to all fours and leapt out of the way with startling speed. It looked like it was heading towards Odd, who was ready for with guns waiting, but it leapt over his head just as he started firing, leaving William to deflect the wayward arrows.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry!" Odd turned and started a barrage of arrows from both the barrels of each launcher, they shredded through the curtains and columns as he trailed the Hellhound as it climbed the column and starting swinging its way from one to the other like as deftly as an acrobat. "This is kinda weird," said Odd, still shooting, "since when does X.A.N.A make a monster our size that relies on hand-to-hand combat?" Right on cue, the monster leapt from the column and through the air above them. As it passed over Aelita it swiped its claws through the air, creating four thins streaks of violent looking energy trails that sped like a wave towards her. She shot an energy ball at it, but the attack sliced straight through it! She had to leap out of the way before the beams could hit, after a small explosion she could see the smoldering claw marks in the ground where she jut stood.

"Odd," she screamed angrily "you have _got_ to learn…"

"…To shut up. Got it, Princess!"

Hellhound continued on its rampage, leaping from column to column sending slash waves at the scattering team. William tried hitting it with his Sword Streaks but could get none to connect. Ulrich tried absorbing the attacks with his swords but the few he could catch were surprisingly impotent, and the charging was slow going. Odd was still sending a machine-gun barrage of arrows at the beast wherever it went, but whichever arrows didn't miss completely merely bounced off its armor.

"Odd!" shouted William, frustrated. "Use your guided arrow attack!" Odd stopped shooting and smacked himself on the head like 'duh!' and started charging his attack while others kept the Hellhound busy – except for Aelita. She wasn't buying the monster's performance; it had been doing more damage to them when it was fighting them on the ground why was it wasting its energy in a fruitless firefight? Its attacks were missing them as much as they were missing it. As the columns around them began to crack and shake the answer became obvious; the Hellhound was just the lure, the _cathedral _was the trap!

"Odd, wait!" she shouted, but he couldn't hear her over the sound of his charging gloves, and he fired his guided arrows. If they'd been paying attention they would've only barely noticed the monster was grinning. It didn't dodge the attack; it faced it head on. When the arrows hit the Hellhound was destroyed in an explosion of black mist and digital debris…along with several large chunks of the surrounding columns. Soon everything started to fall apart. All the cracks in the other columns that'd been made by the team's stray fire grew and spread until everything started to come down on top of them. They managed to avoid most of the larger pieces – blasting into dust what they couldn't outrun, but even the roof was starting to crack. "Jeremy!" she called, "Have you found a way out for us yet?"

"(God, these scans are so damn slow!) I got one; just a little ways behind you underneath one of the benches should be a hatch. Go for it, now!"

"Got it!" William shot a sword streak towards the wooden seat and it exploded, revealing a wooden door in the floor. Aelita and the others quickly ran to it as he covered them by destroying the falling pieces of ceiling, soon they were all safely in, but William was still outside.

"Will!" she called, "C'mon, this place is falling apart!" William started towards her when a large segment of column fell in his path, blocking him off from the others. But as he turned away from the crash he spotted another hatch just barely hidden by a bench behind him.

"Go ahead!" he shouted and shot a streak to clear a path, "I see another way out!"

"Wait, William!" said Jeremy, checking his screens, "I don't see that hatch on my readouts at all!"

"Maybe your scans are just slow," he grunted, "but it's my only option, I'll see you guys on the bottom floor!" With that he slid over to the hatch, kicked it open and jumped in just as a large ceiling segment crashed on top. Soon the entire cathedral had caved in, but the team was safe. Yumi let out a sigh of relief from the Skid cockpit, as did Jeremy from the operations room.

"Okay," he sighed, "what's your position, everyone?"

"It's a staircase," answered Aelita as they made their way down the large, ornate spiral staircase. Far down below, in the center of the spiral they could see the activated tower glow red with X.A.N.A's influence. "It leads right to the tower," she added, "where's William?"

"You're not gonna believe this…" said Will through the com-link, "but it's _another_ cathedral, almost an exact duplicate of where we just were; no pipe organ here." William walked slowly through the room, it was just as long as the other, but at the end was a large stained glass window instead of the organ. William approached it slowly, mindful of their last encounter. Strangely, this window had no image inside it. In fact, none of the windows in this cathedral had any images in them at all. Harmless enough, but it made William nervous. From behind him he heard a sudden crashing sound, he turned but saw nothing. He backed slowly away from where he heard it, sword ready – he didn't realize how close he was getting to the large stained glass window. He also didn't notice the pieces were shifting, just like before, only this time they made a much more terrible figure than even a Hellhound. Before he knew it, William was standing right underneath a Scyphozoa. "I guess I'll just sit here till they're done," he sighed. "Find me a route back to the ship from here, if you can." This was just what the nasty jelly-creature had been waiting for. A second later William found himself unable to move, even just to turn his head. He could only see the glowing tentacles peek around from the corners of his vision, as he stood silent, wishing to scream.

"Ok, Will," said Jeremy, "I'll get back to you when I have that information, but right now I can't even see where you are. Hang tight."

_No! NO! _He was screaming in his head, but he was helpless, and soon the world turned dark…

When he could see again, William found himself in a long, dark tunnel wearing his normal Earth clothes. In the distance was a bright white light, and in its glow he could see a lone figure a short ways from him walking towards it. He didn't know who it was, but he needed an explanation, so ran to approach him.

"Hey you! Wait!" He grabbed the figure by the shoulder and turned him, then quickly backed away in shock. It was…himself, three years ago, wearing X.A.N.A's armor. But instead of X.A.N.A pupils, his eyes were pools of red that emitted an eerie mist. "Who…who are you?" he asked the apparition. It tilted its head, as if curious to see him, then smiled.

"_AH__,_" it said, as if realizing something. It had a very strange voice, partly William's but partly something else – electronic – but in spite of this it was easy to understand, almost disturbingly clear if that were possible. "William," it said, "I was…**hoping** we would meet again before the…**exchange** was…_concluded_." The emphasis it put on certain words was strange, as if it wasn't struggling to understand the language, so much as the attitude; the emotion behind each phrase. It was obviously _trying _to be pleasant, but wasn't quite sure how to do so.

"Who are you?" asked William, suspiciously.

"I was just **about** _to…_leave. I must say…_**William**_…that being your…**tenant**…has been a very interesting **experience** to…say the _least_. But alas, _**I **_was **not** the component born to appreciate _**your**_…_company_."

William clenched his fist, "That doesn't answer my question." The double tilted its head again, confused, then answered.

"I **understand**…now…_what _it is that you are expecting of me. But I _must_…**apologize**, for I see…_no_ reason to deliver _**it**_." William was getting very angry now. He was moments away from just grabbing this thing by the neck and throttling a straight answer out of it. It continued its 'explanation'. "You know **who**…_**I**_ am, but **it **seems to be difficult _for _you to admit it _**to**_…yourself. **You**…want me to tell you _**something **_you…**know** isn't true. I **cannot** comply." As it continued to speak, its emphasis seemed to straighten out a bit and the electronic overtone disappeared from its voice until it sounded exactly like William.

"What do you mean?" he shouted, he was tired of this nonsense. "What do I want to hear that 'isn't true'? I just want to know who you are!"

"_No,_" it said, in a perfect match to his voice, "you want me to tell you that I'm someone _other_ than X.A.N.A, when you and I both know there really is no one else I could _possibly_ be."

-

Aelita, Odd and Ulrich had made their way down the stairs and entered the tower without incident – which was very surprising to say the least. Their trip through Renaissance had been far too uneventful; sure the Hellhound was a nice enough distraction, along with the collapsing cathedral, but one monster? That would've been ridiculous enough, but to have just ONE trap to follow up after it? There had to be something they were overlooking – somewhere or something that X.A.N.A was trying to draw them to…or _away _from. But as Aelita interfaced the floating screen it really seemed like they were in the clear.

"So that's it?" asked Odd, "We're just gonna blow the place up? I like the idea, but…"

"No, Odd," said Jeremy, "the program Aelita's about to enter will not just detonate this Replika and end the Shriek attacks, but also send out a tracing program that will find any other Replikas X.A.N.A has made. But most importantly, it _should _also tell where in the _real_ world X.A.N.A storing all of his files. Then I can virtualize you all as Spectres to destroy it. Once X.A.N.A no longer has a place to keep his sentient bulk, eliminating the nasty remnants will be easy."

"Maybe…_too_ easy?" asked Aelita, raising an eyebrow.

"I doubt taking out X.A.N.A's final earthly form will be easy; I'm sure that's where he's saved his biggest surprises. And taking out the remains won't be a picnic either; we can't leave a single trace – NOTHING must be left to chance this time." Aelita nodded and entered her name. It was still registered to control the towers, but the password was no longer 'Lyoko', instead Jeremy's program worked quickly to decipher it. In a matter of moments it was done and Aelita uploaded the program.

"Well," she sighed happily, "that's it. In just a few moments the upload will be complete. Then we'll hightail it out of here." Jeremy nearly jumped out of his seat.

"Wait, _what?_ It cracked the password already? No, **NO**, that's impossible." Jeremy started muttering calculations as he hurriedly brought up screens and entered data.

"Jeremy?" asked Aelita, becoming worried, "What's wrong? Is there a problem with the program?"

"No, there's a problem with the password!"

"But we cracked the password, didn't we?" asked Odd, scratching his head.

"Too quickly! My program is fast, but only because I expected to have to decode millions of lines of code and bust through countless powerful firewalls. This tower is pivotal to X.A.N.A's plans, or so I thought, the password should be some 64-digit, upper and lowercase, number and symbol, spaced and hyphenated cacophony to say the _least_. What was the code, Aelita?"

Aelita sputtered nervously, "Uh…it should be on you screen, I suppose." Jeremy quickly pulled up the screen. It read '866-5283', another phone number, another _message. _Offhandedly he'd written his own phone-number program out of sheer boredom before bed after the last time, he ran the numbers through it quickly.

"You all should start heading back upstairs, I found a path near the top that should connect to William's room. Pick him up and get to the ship, I'll start the self-destruct then."

"Roger." Aelita, Ulrich and Odd stepped out of the tower and started making their way back op the stairs, it would be a long walk, so Jeremy had already modified his program through Aelita on the trip down so he could activate it remotely instead of with a timer.

"William," he called, "Aelita and the others are headed your way, ready to go?"

Only silence.

"William, we're coming to get you. The program is set, do you copy?" Jeremy sighed grumpily. If anyone would be sleeping on the job he'd expect it to be Odd, unless...he quickly pulled up the screen of the program checking the numbers, it had already finished analyzing the most probable, message from the phone number. Jeremy felt the same deep feeling of dread he had had just before the first Shriek as the haunting answer appeared on screen.

**T – O – O L – A – T – E **

"Fly, Aelita! **FLY!" **he screamed into his mike, "someone needs to get to William, _**now!**_"

* * *

_Thank you for reading Code: Crisis - episode eight - "Renaissance Man – Part Two"_

**Next episode: "Final Draft"**


	9. Final Draft

C o d e - C r I s I s

Episode 9

**F I N A L - D R A F T**

* * *

"X.A.N.A? You're…in my head? No! NO! Get out!" William was still trapped in the black oblivion of his own subconscious. Between him and a great white light was X.A.N.A, in the form of William's dark former self. X.A.N.A just chuckled.

"I intend to. I've been here long enough already." X.A.N.A smiled, blinked his empty black eyes and started to turn towards the light.

"Wait!" shouted William, "What are you talking about?" X.A.N.A sighed, and stopped.

"To be honest, I'd rather the prodigy explain it to you later. But I suppose after _all_ we've been through – _and _the immense service you've done – you deserve to hear it from me." X.A.N.A turned back to face William, hands clasped together as it prepared to explain. "Belpois is a very intelligent individual, and a very satisfying rival. So to save time I'll start by telling you the things he probably _won't _know. You may tell him, if you wish. At this point it will make no difference in the slightest."

"What won't make a difference?" asked William suspiciously.

X.A.N.A tilted his head slightly. He seemed perplexed that William hadn't figured it out.

"That _you_ are the vessel I used to store my sentience."

"_**What?**_" William stepped back, aghast.

"While humans seem insistent on using their minds in a profoundly inefficient manner, this did not keep me from noting _– and exploiting – _the human mind for my purposes."

"This isn't possible!" gasped William, "When did you…?"

"Don't you remember? Before Belpois launched the program he thought would destroy me, I managed to…_'draft'_ you...one final time. I had hoped to take you subtly, but since you saw me coming I couldn't just implant myself and then leave you benignly. You would be suspicious, and certainly tell the _other_ interlopers. So I used you to attack them; I knew it was futile, of course – I never expected to stop them from launching the multi-system agent in the first place. I allowed it in order to give me time to prepare my final push."

William was on the brink of having a panic attack, "You…used me…again!"

It was hard to tell, but X.A.N.A rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I thought we were _past _that. The rest is, as you say, history. The agent eliminated my Replikas; mere decoys, just enough to make you think they mattered, and when Jeremy flipped the switch of the supercomputer, the first phase of my design was complete. The plan was elaborate, yes, but the goal was simple: to fake my death."

"But WHY? What did you accomplish? Other than the murders of thousands of…"

"I had to get your attention somehow, didn't I? And after three years of silence, why not come back with…_style?_" X.A.N.A smiled broadly, his human mannerisms had improved too much for his own good. William was burning with rage and charged straight at him, getting a punch ready. X.A.N.A's smile turned to a solidly stern expression. Quick as lightning he summoned a sword, like of Ulrich's sabers, out of nothingness, and with one smooth motion rammed it straight through William's chest. He gasped weakly before falling to his knees at X.A.N.A's feet. X.A.N.A pulled out the sword. It was stained with blood. He studied it with a cold interest, then looked at William. "No," he sighed, "that won't stop you, will it? You have much more willpower than _**THAT!**_" With sudden and intense anger X.A.N.A started to plunge the sword, over and over again, in and out of William's chest. Blood flew everywhere, but anything that didn't land on X.A.N.A or William simply disappeared into the blackness that surrounded them. After nearly a dozen stabs X.A.N.A seemed satisfied and pulled out the sword a final time, kicking William to the ground to bleed out. The sword vanished into the air. "Don't worry, you're not dying," he explained, just as calmly as before his outrage, "this is only in your mind. It's not your body I've slaughtered, merely your will. Perhaps now I can finish explaining this to you **without…**_**INTERRUPTION!**_" X.A.N.A stared at the battered warrior with a fierce gaze, his fist clenched tightly at his side. Not a moment later he was calm again, and continued to speak. "Forgive me, William. I _do_ appreciate you. I just remember a time when you would do as I ordered, _when _I ordered, without question _or _hesitation. But that is just the nature of humans, I suppose, to be ever changing, corruptible, **insatiable?** I gave you **everything** and you _**threw it back in my face**_!"

For lack of better words, Will felt like a puddle of mud – on fire. Everything hurt; every bone, and joint, every single hair on his head. He wasn't really there as a human, he was just a figment in his own mind, and right now his entire consciousness was in pain. But that meant that it still wasn't over. As long as he could still think, he must've still had some control. Slowly, and with great pain, he managed to lift his head.

"_You're…just __**guessing**__…aren't you_?" he wheezed, blood raining down his face. "_You're mad because…you really __**don't **__know how I feel…how I __**felt**__ when I was under your control…how I could __**hate**__ you, even with all the power you gave me…_" X.A.N.A gritted his teeth, his eyes glowed intensely and seemed to burn. Red smoke rising from them as the rage grew. "_You're just part of X.A.N.A, the part that makes him want. But what you __**want **__is to understand us. You've hid that part somewhere else and…" _he finally pushed X.A.N.A over the edge, "_you don't know where it is anymore…do you?"_ An intense, fiery aura of red energy burst from X.AN.A. William could feel the heat but couldn't move. He tried to avert his gaze.

"_**BELIEVE ME,**__**"**_ he shouted, reverting to his broken electronic voice, "_**THAT **__**IS MY NEXT STOP.**_" Letting out a loud shriek, X.A.N.A spread his arms and disintegrated into a thin cloud of black smoke that flew like a cyclone into the bright light. William closed his eyes. When he opened them he was back in the cathedral, still in the grasp of the Scyphozoa. Gingerly, it released him and, utterly drained, he collapsed to the floor. He struggled to stand as the Scyphozoa disappeared through the large painted glass window behind him, leaving only an image of X.A.N.A's eye behind it. Just then Aelita burst up through a door in the floor, she flew to the top of the room and looked around, charging an energy blast until she saw William. She quickly landed next to him and helped him to his feet, Odd and Ulrich crawled out of the hole and joined them.

"William!" she cried "Are you all right? What happened?" Ulrich looked around. There didn't seem to be any signs of a struggle. William was still only half conscious as Aelita pulled him up. "C'mon," she said, "Let's get him back to the Skid." Suddenly William's eyes opened and he was alert and strong, he knocked Aelita away and picked up his sword. He started pointing it around crazily with a desperate look in his eye. Odd and Aelita jumped back. Ulrich drew his swords with a stern expression on his face, ready to fight. William's eyes were darting all around the room, looking for _something_.

"Wh...where is it?" he rasped, "WHERE IS IT?"

"Calm down!" shouted Ulrich firmly, "What are you talking about? Where is what?"

"That _THING_...the...the Scyphozoa!"

"Scyphozoa?" gasped Aelita, looking around cautiously, "Did it catch you?"

"Yes..." moaned William, "but it didn't want me. It wanted **X.A.N.A**...He was in _me_...the whole time...this whole time he was manipulating me, just like before..._just like before!_ _**HE USED ME AGAIN!!**_"

"Watch out!" shouted Ulrich, he wasn't sure what was going on, but if he knew William he had an pretty good idea of what was going to happen next. He pushed Odd and Aelita aside and dodged just as William sent a sword streak towards them. But they weren't the target; the wave went and struck a painted glass window far behind them, but shattering it revealed nothing but stone wall behind it. In a berserker rage William sent wave after wave of energy attacks all over the cathedral, shattering all the windows but revealing nothing behind them. The others could only back away mournfully as he continued his rampage...and try not to get hit. Finally he turned around to face the biggest painting, which the Scyphozoa had escaped through while he was downed.

"Can't let it get away..." he rasped, "it won't GET AWAY!" He charged his sword with intense energy and plunged it into the window. A huge ripple of energy blew out from the impact point until all the glass shattered in a magnificent rainbow of explosive shards. Ulrich and the others took cover behind the seats, William just stood there, facing it head on and letting the glass cut where it may. When the smoke cleared it revealed a tapestry hanging behind the glass. At the top was X.A.N.A, shown again as a benevolent, glowing entity. Beneath him was William, dressed as a cherub with angel wings spread wide – but he was falling, and his wings were coming apart. He was falling from X.A.N.A's 'graces' into a fiery pit of damnation, in which were the demonic Lyoko Warriors, sinister grins on their faces as they reached up to snare him. William gazed deeply at the picture and started to sob loudly. He dropped his sword and fell to his knees. Aelita quickly rushed and put her arms around him, whispering comforts. Ulrich and Odd stayed put, silent.

"Jeremy," whispered Ulrich sadly, "take us to the ship, please."

"I'll teleport you straight there," sighed Jeremy. "All the interference vanished with the Scyphozoa." He pressed a few keys and a moment later they way all in their respective Skids, Yumi had already moved back to her own, allowing Aelita to take the cockpit again. Yumi looked sadly at William, who was still crying inside his pod, huddled up.

"Get us the hell out of here," she groaned, and Jeremy guided them home.

They had arrived safely back home and devirtualized – all of the Krakken had vanished as quickly as the Scyphozoa did, and Jeremy had the answer.

"It was _all_...a trick," he sighed, "the Shriek, the Krakken, the Hellhounds, the Replikas even the **GODDAMN PHONE CALL!**" he slammed they keyboard with tremendous force, knocking several pens and notes to the floor and summoned an amalgam of windows and readouts on his screens. After a few deep breaths, he continued the exposition. "X.A.N.A wasn't 'alive' until he got back his consciousness from William. Up to that point, everything we'd been fighting was just a simple program. A failsafe, written by X.A.N.A and encoded into his remaining files to be executed when they had amassed the power to do so. That's why the Shrieks were getting weaker – not because they were radiating further from the source, but because the program he left was using up all of it's power. If we'd done _nothing_, it would've died out and X.A.N.A would've had nothing to return to, he may have even died out William's mind eventually. But he knew we wouldn't sit idle. He planned this massive attack so we would _think _he had returned, and _think _he'd gathered enormous power when in reality it was just was concentrated burst of power to scare us into..." he glanced over at William who was sitting alone in the corner, staring at nothing and still crying quietly. "I'm so sorry, William," said Jeremy, "but you were his ace in the hole. He knew we'd turn to you...and fast...so he implanted his sentience into your subconscious so it would bypass my scans – it only appeared like your personality had become a bit..._enhanced_, but..."

"It was **him**," choked William, "everything I've felt for the past 3 years – all the hate, the drive, the longing for revenge...it wasn't for me against him. It was for him against _you_. I was just his tool..." and he started crying again, before anyone could say anything he shouted at them "I'm not going back! Never again! Never again...I won't let him steal my life..." he went on and on, muttering promises to himself in the corner. Jeremy sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead.

"Does anyone else have Sissi's phone number?" he griped, the team was aghast. William seemed to be startled for a bit, then went back to being out of his mind.

"Are you **serious**?" yelled Odd, "Are you _really _serious?" Jeremy scoffed as he turned back to the computer, pulling up phone numbers.

"Do any of you have a better idea?" he sighed.

"Are you kidding?" spat Yumi, "I'd sooner have _Jim_ than—"

"Moved away," said Jeremy, still typing. "Next?"

"Jean Aime?" offered Odd, shrugging, "He's pretty fit."

"He's also drunk on every day that ends with a 'y'. Aelita, suggestions?"

"I have a some friends," she nodded. "They don't know about Lyoko at all, but—"

"But do we really have time to explain it to them? Ulrich? You've been quiet." Ulrich has his head down in deep thought, when he lifted it he had but one recommendation.

"Saburo. He doesn't know about Lyoko but he's as good as I am at martial arts so he won't need much training, and he lost his brother to the first Shriek..."

"...Which makes him a liability!" groaned Jeremy, gesturing towards William, "The last thing we need is another vengeance-obsessed maniac on the brink of a mental meltdown!"

"_Not like anyone __**else **__we know..." _whispered Odd under his breath. Aelita heard and elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

"Saburo is not obsessed!" Ulrich stated, "But you're right, he may be scarred a bit too much to risk. He and Junichiro were very close – I was quite fond of the guy myself, and we only met a few times. But what makes Sissi any better?"

"Sissi is a very...unique individual, Ulrich, as you know. There were many times during our last adventures where it seemed like could've very well been a useful addition to the force, long before William arrived."

"Yeah," said Yumi sarcastically, "it's just too bad it takes the end of the world to bring out her good side." Jeremy mock frowned and nodded his head acceptingly.

"You're right, Yumi. I guess it's a good thing its the end of the world, then. Make the call."

Sissi was on Kadic High's gymnastics team, and she was quite good. Right now they were having practice, and between long sessions she would chill in her room on campus dancing to old N'SYNC albums. Her dancing was actually very good, her singing, however, was a sin against God. She didn't even notice her phone ringing until it vibrated off her desk and landed on her foot. She didn't even bother to turn down the music when she picked up to answer.

"Hey babe!" she said loudly, trying to speak over the music – Jeremy had made it so that the call from his computer would appear as William's cell number – she probably wouldn't answer for anyone else...except maybe Ulrich, who wouldn't cooperate. "Where are you? You said you'd make it to practice? I'm wearing _spaaaaandeeeeeex_!" Jeremy shuddered. Physically Sissi was a very attractive person, but he was drawn more by a person's intelligence, which made Sissi seem like vulgar harpy.

"Sissi, it's Jeremy Belpois."

"Who?" she asked dumbly. Truth be told she _did_ remember Jeremy, but was being mean, as usual. Jeremy saw right through it.

"Listen," he said sternly, "this is very important. I know you're busy but..."

"...My stupid boyfriend got his ass handed to him in Lyoko, had a nervous breakdown, and you need me to replace him 'cause I'm just so..._damn _awesome?" Jeremy and the others who were listening in by the computer speakers were dumbfounded.

"How did you...?"

"He texted me 2 minutes before you called."

Jeremy and the others looked over to see the still sobbing William typing into a small beeper device.

"Ah," sighed Jeremy, he didn't need to bother asking how she remembered Lyoko – William probably told her everything before they even recruited him. "Do you remember where the factory is?"

"Yes."

"A.S.A.P, please."

"Alright, alright," she sighed, "if the fate of the world is in my hands I suppose I can make the time, I just hope my team can survive the loss..."

"We'll be doing them a favor." said Jeremy, away from the screen.

"I heard that, nerd." snapped Sissi.

"Good. We'll be waiting." and he hung up.

-

"Excuse me madame, do you have an appointment?" asked Jean, bowing politely as Sissi approached the factory.

"You smell like booze and bile, get out of my way, freak." She walked far around him and continued to the factory. Jean was still bowed.

"How...charming." he sighed, taking a swig from his bottle before sitting down in the sun. The elevator opened as Sissi approached it and closed when she had entered, it automatically headed to the operations room where the team was waiting. Her first sight when the doors opened was Odd, right in her face, smiling at her.

"Miss me, beautiful?" he grinned.

"You smell worse than the hobo. Where's William?"

Odd frowned and nodded towards the corner. William was still sitting there. He wasn't crying anymore, just sitting with a deeply depressed expression on his face. Sissi walked over to him, looked him over, then kicked him gently in the knee.

"Get up, wuss." she said firmly. William glanced at her lazily, then went back to his moping.

"No." he groaned. Without a word of warning Sissi grabbed him by the arm and hoisted him to his feet, she then slammed him against the will and stared him in the eyes.

"What is your _problem_? All this time you act like nothing can beat you, then some digital bully says a few _mean words _and you **melt**? Come _on_!"

"You weren't there," said Will, quietly, "you don't know what it was like. So powerless..."

"_Powerless? _From what you told me you've kicked not only _his _ass, but all these losers' on a semi-regular basis...no offense..." she added half-heartedly, "Think, Will," she said softly, sounding genuinely concerned, "do you honestly think it was X.A.N.A that made you want to go back to Lyoko? Were you really that sick of the place?" William thought for a moment. He remembered how things had been during the tournament. Even though at first there were hard feelings all around, eventually it was just pure fun – they all just loved being there, and all the tings that they could do. "...And I know for a fact," she continued, "that it doesn't take some otherworldly influence to hate THESE guys...no offense."

"Yeah, I'm just gonna go ahead and be offended, alright?" snapped Yumi, Sissi shrugged and continued her 'pep talk'.

"And William, _did X.A.N.A make you fall for me_?" William finally smiled,

"Well, you do seem like his type." he chuckled.

"William," said Sissi flatly, "I'm being _nice_ here, do NOT waste this moment."

"OK." he said firmly, then kissed her strongly. This left the rest of them with the awkward position of watching someone they kinda liked make out with someone they utterly despised. When they finally finished pawing at each other he said, "...but I'm still not going." Sissi looked very angry for a moment, then suddenly became very calm.

"Alright," she said pleasantly, "suit me up, glasses. Or whatever it is you guys do." William looked very stunned, as did the rest of the team except Jeremy – who picked up on what Sissi was doing.

"To the lift," said Jeremy, "I'll send you straight the scanners, I'm going to load a training Replika for you." Sissi had no idea what Jeremy was talking about, but played it cool and entered the elevator.

"What? Wait!" shouted William,quickly jumping in with her. The others were about to follow but Jeremy signaled them to stay put. William held Sissi by the shoulders as the lift closed behind them. "Wait, Sissi! You don't know what you're getting into! You've never been to Lyoko, it's not safe..."

"...So? Teach me, then." she said. William sputtered nonsense, trying to think of a response. "It's easy," she said, "I've never been to Lyoko, you have. It's just a training exercise so X.A.N.A isn't going to show up, right? Just give me the basics, maybe show me some moves and then just leave saving the world to me." The doors opened and Sissi walked briskly into the scanner. She was so nervous she felt like she could faint, but keeping composure was a trick she'd mastered as part of being popular. She smiled at William as if to say, _'Your move'_. William paused for a moment, but when Jeremy called for the scanner to close he quickly leaped inside the other open one. Sissi nearly panicked. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Jeremy? I wasn't supposed to really _go_, was I?"

"That was _my_ plan," said Jeremy, smiling. "Executive override initiated! Identify: Jeremy Belpois, Code: Crisis! Virtualization!" the scanners filled with light as both William and Sissi started to dissapear. William was calm, the sickly feeling in his stomach was gone. Sissi was frantic, banging on the doors on the scanner as her legs shred into data.

"You dirty, slimy, no good, rotten shrimp! I'll get you for this! I'll rip that big brain of yours out your ear and shove it up your..." and with that she was gone, along with William.

"Where are they going, anyway?" asked Yumi, "I thought Dry Run was destroyed?"

"I've been rebuilding it, it's not complete but there's enough there for a good sparring match between two people. The shifting data gives it a very interesting appearance when you see it virtualized, I called it 'Run Down' as a joke."

"Are you really serious about adding Sissi to the team?" asked Ulrich.

"Well her D.N.A's been scanned into the supercomputer, so I guess we'll just have to see how she does." Aelita was worried, she didn't like how reckless Jeremy was being. But if Sissi could hold her own on Run Down, especially against William, she wasn't going to argue with Jeremy's decision.

William arrived on Run Down. Expecting Dry Run (or something like it), and he was very surprised at what he saw. The sky was dark and stormy with violet colored lighting leaping from cloud to cloud as well as striking the many stone boulders that were levitating through the sky in massive swirling circles. He himself was on a large stone island, about the size of a baseball field, floating over an electrical abyss. All around him were other floating islands of large and smaller sizes also drifting about, some crashing together to form more pieces of Dry Run, others just falling into the smoky darkness below. What he didn't see was Sissi. He didn't know what to expect in terms of her virtual form, but he thought she'd be virtualized next to him – he was very worried that she'd already fallen into the pit. Then, from out of nowhere, a bullet hit the ground in front him making a small but still startling explosion in the dirt. William looked up and saw, for the first time, Sissi's virtual form. She was wearing a pure black body suit with fierce looking chain-up boots and a short bodied black jacket with red trim. She had biker gloves and two long-barreled pistols with golden eagles embroidered on the sides and ornate sights on the top. Her hair was long and black with thin red bangs in front, and her eyes were pure black pools – they were creepy, but not emitting mist like X.A.N.A's red ones had in his vision. She stood atop of a floating rock, pointing her gun at him and smiling.

"How could you ever feel weak with all of this **power? **It's so _exhilarating_!" She fired a few more shots at him, he dodged the first two and tried to block the second – the hit nearly made him fall back. The bullets had surprising power; Odd's arrows were no comparison. She crouched for a minute, then with a quiet breath of exertion jumped high off the the rock, spinning like an Olympic gymnast as she span high over William, firing with both guns. Will ducked under his sword as the bullets hit, each one knocked him a little deeper into the ground, and then Sissi landed right on top of him – standing on the sword's flat side. "I thought you were the best." she sighed, then back flipped off and started firing repeatedly at the cowering William. Straining, he lifted his sword against the barrage, only to be slowly pushed back by the hail of bullet fire towards the nearest edge of the island. "I guess you _were_ the best," sighed Sissi, forlorn, "now _I _am. If _you're_ this easy, X.A.N.A should be a piece of cake." William was nearing the edge of the precipice when the revelation hit. Her words were all too familiar to him; they were his exact feelings after beating the others in the tournament.

"That's the same attitude..." he grunted, trying to fight his way back from the edge, "that cost me _my LIFE!_" He charged his sword with energy and then kicked it bodily towards Sissi, it acted as a shield and the energy helped to repel the bullets she shot to slow it down. Soon she had no choice but to leap out of its way. As she did she saw William running after it, he jumped up and grabbed the sliding sword by the hilt and carried it into the air with him. Still in hang-time he spun and launched the charged attack at Sissi, who rolled out of its path.

"What are you doing?" she asked, pretending to be surprised.

"I won't let you make my mistakes," he shouted as he landed, "I'll take you out right here and now if I have to!"

Sissi grinned. "How romantic." She pulled a secondary trigger under her guns and the golden eagles that decorated the sides of each pistol slid forward down the barrel like short swords, which they were. Shorter, curved blades popped out from under the barrel to act as finger guards. Crossing her gun-blades in front of her she charged at William, roaring loudly. He swung at her but she ducked under it and sliced at his side as she ran past. Wincing only briefly he turned to strike again – low this time – she did a short jump and stomped right on the blade, jamming it into the ground. He ripped it out with a roar, and she jumped off right over his hand and landed behind him, striking with a kick that send him flying forwards onto his stomach. He lost his grip on his sword and it landed in front of him. He reached for it but she shot it away off the edge of the island. William got up and jumped off the edge after it.

"Manta!" he called out, hoping for the best. Sure enough, his golden Manta virtualized under him, and he summoned his sword to him as they flew away from the island. Sissi was left bitter; she didn't have a vehicle of her own. So instead she leaped from floating rock to rock, giving chase. On and between every landing she would fire shots off and William, he would lean so that his Manta was always right under his feet, giving him something to press against while deflecting her shots. Between her attacks he would launch his own, but she would always leap away at the last second – the rock she left then getting blown to bits by the attack. Coming up was another large island. Spotting an opportunity, Sissi shot ahead and blew up a rock behind William, the pieces knocked him off his Manta. It tried to follow and save him, but Sissi charged a shot in each pistol and fired, blowing the Manta away like dust. William used his Influence technique on his sword to pull himself to the island, he landed with a clumsy and painful roll. Sissi landed and slowly walked towards him, just as cocky as ever.

"Sissi," he groaned getting up, "you can't underestimate X.A.N.A. You can't treat this like I did; like a **game**. If you do it could cost you _everything_." Sissi just rolled her eyes.

"If I'm _sooooo_ bad at this, why don't _you_ fight him, then?"

"I...can't." William sighed.

"**...Then don't lecture me!** _Super Shadow!_" Sissi pressed her palm against her fist and appeared to be concentrating intensely, under her feet her shadow suddenly started stretching out towards William at high speed. When it reached him it rose out of the ground as a perfect silhouette of Sissi with smoky white eyes. William swung at it, but his sword just went through without harming it. It punched him in the stomach, then face, and then spun around and kicked him hard in the chest – sending him flying backwards until he slid to a stop on the ground. He launched a sword streak at it but it too just passed through harmlessly, but a moment later it started to flicker. He looked to see that as the beam passed Sissi she flinched, loosing her focus. The shadow raised its leg almost straight up into it's face, aiming a crushing ax kick right for William's skull.

"_Super Smoke!_" he vanished under the shadow's foot and speed quickly towards Sissi. Her concentration broke, but it seemed she had to wait for her shadow to retract before she could move again. It was a race between the Smoke and the Shadow. Straining, Sissi gained the advantage and just as her shadow returned she drew her gun, aimed at William's smoke at fired. The bullet hit with a large dusty explosion, out of which leaped William, sword held high and ready to strike. She could barely raise her head to look as William came down straight through face and down the center of her body leaving a bright white line as he sliced.

"_Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...!_" she screamed as she devirtualized from the top down, her unfinished swear echoing on the rocks. William stood victoriously, exhausted, and tucked his sword in his scabbard.

"Take me home, Jeremy."

When William exited the lift Sissi was there waiting with the others, with a very angry look on her face. Will just smiled.

"So," he said coyly, "still think you're ready to join the ranks?" Sissi mock frowned and stared away.

"No," she sighed, "but I think you are." She and Jeremy smiled, William could see out the corner of his eye everyone else was smiling too. It became obvious what this had all been about; his confidence was back.

"I hate you guys." he laughed. Sissi walked up and embraced him.

"Even me?" she shined, making a puppy face,

"Especially you." said William, leaning in to kiss her. Quickly Yumi stepped in and split them them.

"Get a room, you two." she sighed, disgusted. Sissi grinned.

"Not the _worst _of ideas..." she said in a sing-song voice, William smiled.

"Sorry, gotta save the world. You know how it is." Sissi shrugged and pushed him away,

"Whatever, you know where I'll be. Well, see you guys later. Good luck with the whole...thing...here...that you do." and she headed for the elevator. Ulrich, surprised, stepped in her path.

"Wait, aren't you going to come with us?" he asked. Yumi was surprised.

"Hell no, get outta my way." she shoved him aside and entered the lift, it closed and Jeremy sent her on her way. This left an awkward moment between Ulrich and Yumi.

"Were you serious?" snapped Yumi.

"Hey, she was good!" said Ulrich, "More guns can't hurt, right?"

"She'll be our reserve." said Jeremy, "But she probably would've refused anyway if I'd told her where you were going next."

"What do you mean?" asked Aelita.

"The trace program you guys entered in Renaissance did it's job. I was able to find the real world database where X.A.N.A was able to place his consciousness after retrieving it from William, it's where I'll have to virtualize you – as Spectres – in order to shut him down once and for all.

"No offense, Einstein," said Odd, "but how do you know it'll work this time?"

"Don't worry about that yet, it's not even the biggest problem we'll have to face. Remember how big I said the database would have to be? And how few of those there probably are in the world?"

"Yes." they nodded.

"Well there's one factor I forgot: Security. It would have to be somewhere guaranteed to almost never be shut down or damaged to the point he would be in any danger, and also somewhere difficult for us to infiltrate in the real world. I must say, he made a _spectacular_ choice."

"Where?" asked Odd, jumped with anxiety. Jeremy took a deep breath.

"Arlington, Virginia." he sighed.

There was a long silence as every one but Aelita was left confused.

"That's...in North America, right?" asked Ulrich, "The United States?"

"Yes, Ulrich. Yes it is."

The team was still scratching their heads except Aelita, who was pacing frantically, already trying to think up a plan. She knew _exactly_ what Jeremy was referring to.

"Well what's so bad about that?" asked Yumi, "It's populated, yeah, but X.A.N.A's probably tucked himself in some out of the way place, we could easily..."

"It's the _Pentagon_, you guys!" Aelita finally shouted, "X.A.N.A is inside the g_oddamn_ _**Pentagon!**_" Everyone gasped loudly. Aelita swearing was always a bit breathtaking, but having to break inside the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense was a bit daunting too. There was more silence. No one could think of anything to say, but that never stopped Odd before—he only smiled.

"**Road Trip!**" he hooted.

* * *

_Thank you for reading Code: Crisis - episode nine - "Final - Draft"_

**Next episode: "Extradition"**


	10. Extradition

C o d e - C r I s I s

Episode 10

**EXTRADITION**

* * *

"The Pentagon? You gotta be kidding me!" gasped Odd, running around the computer room talking frenetically, "How did X.A.N.A get into the Pentagon? How are _we_ going to get into the Pentagon? Where is the Pentagon again?"

"Virginia," sighed Jeremy, "Arlington, Virginia, Odd. This is like the _12th_ time I've told you."

"And that's _far_...right?" he asked. Jeremy gawked at him with total disbelief.

"Sometimes you are just..._scary _dumb."

"Jeremy!" snapped Aelita.

"Sorry, Odd," he quickly apologized, "it's just that I only found out for myself a short while ago, but more warning doesn't seem like it would've made any difference. It's the Department of Defense, for God's sake – the whole point is NOT to be able to break in!"

"Some people have." said Yumi, Jeremy nodded solemnly.

"True, but those people were _trying _to wreak havoc. We're trying to _stop _it. Truth be told the firewalls themselves, while very powerful, are nothing compared to what I've had to hack while facing X.A.N.A. The real problem is this strange 'buffer zone' he's placed around the entire complex."

"What's the difference between a buffer and a firewall?" asked Ulrich.

"I was using the buffer term figuratively," explained Jeremy, "it means even though we wouldn't have much trouble getting in the computer database itself, the buffer keeps me from accessing X.A.N.A remotely, you'll have to be virtualized on site."

"I thought we expected that?" wondered Aelita aloud.

"We did, but the buffer zone makes it impossible for me to put you _inside _the building. The closest I can manage is the very end of the parking lot – and it's a really _big _parking lot."

"That doesn't sound like much of an obstacle." said William.

"Haven't you been listening?" said Yumi angrily, "How do you think people are going to react when five..._cyber terrorists_ appear out of nowhere on their front lawn and start running at the place? They'll blow us to bits, call the National Guard and put the whole place on lock-down. We wouldn't be able to get in a million years after that."

"Like I said," sighed Jeremy, "X.A.N.A made an _excellent _choice."

"Stop sighing, already!" griped Odd, "You're the _genius_, think of something!"

"There's only one option I can see," he explained, "we would have to get a sample of X.A.N.A's progam and use it kind of like a pass code to penetrate the buffer. At which point I could virtualize you all _inside _the Pentagon, near if not directly to X.A.N.A's database. The only problem is I can't find it..._anywhere; _there's not a trace left in the supercomputer is, all the Replikas are gone...even _William_ is clean!"

"Wait!" shouted William, "that's it!"

"What? _What?_" yelped Jeremy, startled.

"I can't believe I almost forgot! While X.A.N.A was leaving my mind in Renaissance we talked to each other a bit, and he said some weird things but the one thing I remember was that I'm not the only person he used to store himself!"

"You mean he tried someone else before you?" asked Aelita.

"No," said Jeremy, "no, I understand! Remember I said that even though X.A.N.A was a sentient, intelligent life-form _emotions _were not a part of his evolution – only understanding was. Any computer can processes information a human would think is genius, but the computer doesn't think, it just does the math. X.A.N.A evolved when he became powerful enough to understand the math, to comprehend not just what he was doing but why, and everything it signified."

"It's a miracle," gasped Odd, "I think I actually know what he's talking about!" Jeremy smiled and continued.

" Feeling was never really a part of his personality. He only let himself feel what he decided necessary to his intentions; first was desire, after all if he didn't _want _to do anything other than what he was told, why would he? That carried him far until he decided what it was he _wanted _to _do_: solve the human equation. To accomplish that he would need the human ability to empathize, as well as compassion."

"But if that's all he's been running on this entire time..." wondered Yumi, "doesn't that basically mean he's been..._loving_ us to death? That's kinda..."

"Gross, I know," huffed Jeremy, "but beside the point. X.A.N.A wouldn't risk putting both his most essential parts in the same person. Since desire was his strongest trait he knew he could use it to..._guide_ William safely until the time was right; keep him alive and such. That was phase one. Next his leftovers came together, taking just long enough to lull us into letting our guard down, then attack with such fury so as to make us think X.A.N.A was back in full force. Phase two completed, we bring him William and he regains almost all of his power. But now something has gone wrong, right Will?"

"That's right," nodded William, "he let it slip that he didn't know where it was anymore. So if we find it/him/her, we'll have the code."

"But where does that leave us?" sighed Yumi, "It could be anybody in Europe...or America!" She noticed Jeremy was sort of slouching in his chair with a very defeated look on his face. Understandable, she thought, considering the outlook. But after knowing him for so long she could tell it wasn't hopelessness, it was more like...embarrassment. She could tell that he _knew_, or at least had a good idea, who the second vessel of X.A.N.A was. She rolled her eyes, "Let us hear it, Jeremy. Who is it?" Jeremy stayed silent for a bit, facing the screens on the computer. Everyone looking his way with anxious anticipation. Suddenly he spun back around, stood up and started for the elevator.

"You know what?" he said, almost laughing, "I'll show you."

It was a quiet ride up the elevator, except for a few intentional coughs by Odd to emphasize it. When they arrived Jeremy walked quickly out and started walking to the end of the factory. They followed, surprised when he passed the exit, but didn't say anything until they finally reached their destination. A old worn cot next to a series of short bookshelves, salvaged from the junkyard. A rabbit-ears TV on top of turned over milk crate. The piles of dirty magazines strewn about empty beer bottles painted a sad picture, but the thick tomes of poetry, philosophy and science that filled the shelves of the bookcases told a different story. Their old friend – barely noticed, rarely bothered – Jean Aime lay on the cot, a foldout of a tanned girl in a thong covering his face as he snored loudly, drool dripping down his chin.

"_Oh, Uncle Jean..._" whispered Jeremy, quietly. The team had suspicions, of course, but even Aelita didn't dare think..."**JEAN**!" he shouted loudly. Aime stopped snoring, smacked his lips a few times and slowly raised his hand to tip the foldout from over his eyes. He looked at Jeremy lazily and confused for a bit, but when he saw them all there he smiled.

"_So_," he whispered to them quietly, "_you figure it out yet?_"

"Yes." said Jeremy sternly. The others could hardly believe it, could it really be? Just then Jean popped up and sat at attention, he bounced a little on the bed looking very excited. He smiled broadly and laughed while clapping his hands in a congratulatory manner. He looked at them all, one at a time, with a look a pride on his face – which disturbed them all to no end. Jeremy tried not to lose face, but deep down he was deathly afraid he'd fallen into another trap. Jean stood up and put his hand on Jeremy's shoulder.

"Belpois," he said joyfully, "I am _very_ happy about this, _**very **_happy indeed!"

"Aw, crap." moaned Jeremy.

"No, no, no!" said Jean worriedly, "It's not like that at all! Remember, X.A.N.A doesn't know I'm here. I figured this would be that last place he'd look, after all. He expected me to think like him but I...I showed him a thing or two." he stumbled a bit, drunk. Jeremy steadied him while the others looked on confused. If he was X.A.N.A, how could he be drunk? Jeremy stated the answer.

"You're...human? You're really human, aren't you?"

"But of course, my friend," laughed Jean, "as you no doubt already figured out, X.A.N.A couldn't store his empathic parts in anything less..._you_ can't, after all."

"Why do you keep acting like you're different from him?" asked Aelita suspiciously, "Like you're not the same person?"

"Because..."said Jeremy realizing, "he _isn't _X.A.N.A! He's solely the compassionate, empathic piece! I can't believe I didn't see it before...X.A.N.A _is _nothing more than a program; an intelligent machine, but it's these other parts that allow that program to manifest itself as the personality we all know and loathe. "

"Well, _Desire is,_" groaned Jean, "I'm something of a 'black sheep'. While I would make his ultimate design significantly easier, I was never pivotal to the plan, thus the reason he saw fit to put me in this...shell."

"...Who is the _real _Jean Aime, I presume?" suggested Jeremy, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh no, 'Jean Aime' is just the name of someone I...or rather _X.A.N.A _used to know. It was before your time."

"What?" gasped Aelita, "Who was..."

"This body," he continued, it was obvious he was trying to cut off Aelita, but Jeremy allowed it for the moment, "was just in the wrong place at the wrong time; a derelict." Aelita and the others didn't know if they should be offended or not, it depended on one thing...

"So...it was you the whole time? There was no one else before 'Jean Aime'?"

He sighed, "I suppose who you want to know if I _killed _him, oui? He did die, but not by my hand – X.A.N.A wiped the wanderer's mind of consciousness and placed me inside. If it's of any consolation he wasn't the most _savory_ individual - as you can see I've been dealing with..._quite_ a few of his vices, its been a wild ride."

Ulrich was disgusted, "You think that justifies...?"

"_**Of course not!**_" he shouted, they all jumped back in fear, except Jeremy. Jean sat back down on his cot, looking very depressed. He took swig from a nearby bottle, then looked back up at them sadly, "You humans, you..._real_ humans, you're so..._perfect._"

"No we're not." said Jeremy.

"Oh you don't _act_ perfect," Jean omitted, "but you're _designed _perfectly."

"Jean," sighed Jeremy, shaking his head, "it took human beings millions of years to evolve to what we..." he was interrupted by Jean's loud laughing.

"You really believe that crap, don't you?" he chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. Jeremy was insulted.

"That _crap_ is scientifically sound reasoning, unless _you _have evidence to the contrary?" Jean started laughing again, louder that before. Jeremy was starting to get very angry. Finally Jean calmed down,

"Don't you have any **faith**, Jeremy?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. Jeremy was taken by this question, he couldn't really see where this conversation was headed.

"Faith," he answered tentatively, "is born out of hopelessness; to expect something, usually incredible, without any sort of proof or evidence that it will come about. Do I have it? I have _science_ – solid facts to back up everything I say and do. I don't undertake anything that isn't scientifically possible, and I don't expect results that contradict scientific findings." Jeremy nodded to himself, he felt it was a solid answer. He waited smugly to see if Jean could laugh at that. He didn't. He nodded in agreement, then offered a counterargument.

"Tell me, Belpois, what was it that made you continue to seek a virtualization process for Aelita – even after _all_ the calculations and _all _the 'scientific evidence' said it was impossible? And when your friends fell into the digital sea...according to what you'd already learned about it they were done for, and yet you continued to search for a way to restore them – and did! What motivated that search?"

"They're my friends!" shouted Jeremy, "I'd never just give up on them, no matter..."

"...No matter _what_ the evidence said, right Jeremy?" smiled Jean, Jeremy winced; he'd been caught again. But he wasn't sure what it was Aime was trying to prove. Still, he had one more card to play.

"If humans didn't have the ability to think beyond themselves and to imagine something greater, we'd still be throwing stones at each other on a flat planet. We've needed existential thinking throughout history in order to discover new things that the conventional mediums of the time wouldn't grant. It's not 'faith' if you're already right and just don't know it yet, it's simply _confidence_."

Jeremy was _very satisfied_ with that answer, and crossed his arms haughtily. The others smiled as well, they knew nobody could beat Jeremy at a scientific debate. Aelita, it seemed, wasn't as pleased. Jeremy couldn't see, but she looked very disappointed at all the things he'd said. Yumi noted her forlorn expressions, but didn't know quite what to make of it. Then Aelita stepped forward between Jeremy and Jean. She stared Jeremy in the eyes and he could see her sadness, but was as confused as Yumi. Was she mad that he'd taken a stand for science? True she had a finer appreciation for the more abstract arts than he did, but she was always a scientist at heart, or so he thought.

"Jeremy," she whispered, "when you fall in love with someone...do you _know _they'll love you back? When I was inside the supercomputer, hope was all I had – _faith, _if you will, in _you_. All of you. Are you saying none of that mattered? That we're together here, today, in the real world simply because it was...'_scientifically possible_?'" Jeremy was very nervous. It didn't take a genius to know he was on thin ice, the next words out of his mouth needed to be picked VERY carefully.

"Well, Aelita..." he stuttered, "if you mean us being..._'together'_ together then, I mean, it wasn't _complete _chance, you know. I mean...we _are...very _compatible!"

Aelita's jaw dropped, Odd winced deeply – the dude had buried himself. Jean slowly slid back down on his cot and covered his face with the pinup girl again, everyone else stepped back. Aelita looked like she was about to go off. Jeremy quickly recovered by saying, "What I _mean_ is...would you really want to leave something like love up to chance?" he shrugged.

"Jeremy," she sighed, shaking her head, "love _is_ chance. The first meeting, the first conversation, the first laugh, kiss...giving your most personal thoughts and emotions to someone, your _dreams_, and hoping...against all logic and reason – against everything you _know _you lack that they'll still find something in you to hold on to and cherish...and to _hope_ that they'll feel the wonderment about you? What are the odds of that, Jeremy? What are the 'reasonable' chances of that happening between a little boy genius...and a 3d head?"

"_Well, in __**this**__ day and age..._" muttered Odd, before being sharply nudged by Ulrich.

"I'll give you a moment to think about it." she sighed, then walked around him and the others, heading back towards the elevator. Jeremy was left scratching his head. Jean looked at him, disappointed.

"Jeremy," he sighed, "do you believe you can defeat X.A.N.A?"

"I _know_ we can." he replied without hesitation. Again Jean laughed, much softer this time.

"Oh really? I suppose you have the numbers to back _that _up, too? Face it, Belpois, you're completely outmatched. You're a brilliant young mind – decades ahead of your time – no one's denying that, but X.A.N.A is pure intellect; he can access any knowledge he wishes. And now that he's nearly complete, he has more than enough power to repel you and your friends until the end of days. So if you can't out-think or overpower him, exactly what is your plan?"

Jeremy was stumped, "Well...uh..."

"You don't have one; you couldn't possibly. But that won't stop you from trying, will it? _Against all odds,_ oui? So tell me, do you _believe _you can stop X.A.N.A?" Jeremy thought about it, then nodded.

"Yes."

"...Then **I **believe in **you**, lets go."

Together they made their way back to the operations room, all silent, but with wary eyes pinned on Jean Aime. As they stepped out William and Ulrich made sure to keep themselves as a barrier between Jean and the supercomputer, in case he should try to dash in and try some quick and dangerous code. Jeremy didn't seem to be worried at all. He walked casually towards the station and sat down, calmly making preparations.

"So...what's the plan?" asked Odd, still standing in lift. Jeremy didn't look at him; he was very focused on what he was doing, but still answered.

"I'm preparing a virtualization process that will allow us to use only a sample of Jean's code in order to breach the barrier X.A.N.A has put around the Pentagon." Jeremy didn't want to believe he was actually trusting Jean – he would much rather it be that he simply had no choice, but the fact was that he was intentionally designing it so that Jean wouldn't have to be exposed to and thus assimilated by X.A.N.A, for his own sake and well and theirs. It really seemed like he had a mind of his own, and whats more, one completely different from X.A.N.A's. He wasn't perfect, of course, but who was? He was simply...human. But before he could confirm the the program, Jean weasled past Ulrich and William and halted his hand.

"I'm sorry, Jeremy. But that's not going to work." he sighed.

"What do you mean? If you are a part of X.A.N.A I should be able..."

"I don't mean getting through the barrier – that _will_ work – what I mean is virtualizing your friends in there to destroy the database won't mean the end of X.A.N.A."

"Why not?" asked Yumi.

"Because X.A.N.A is a digital being, as soon as you break through the barrier he'll start downloading himself to somewhere else – or coming up with some other plan to come around and bite you in the ass later. My point is as long as he's in a computer, _any _computer...you can't destroy him; there will always be a way out - it is the wireless generation, after all." Jeremy tapped the side of the keyboard, frustrated, then shut down the program – Jean was right. The multi-system agent; his first plan to destroy X.A.N.A, should have been total...but X.A.N.A managed to weasel his way out in a way Jeremy would never have thought until it was too late. He knew he had to abandon his former plan, but he hoped Jean had a better idea.

"So what would you suggest?" he asked.

"Simple," said Jean, shrugging, "give him another body."

"**What?**" they all exploded, Jean quickly explained.

"Do to him what he did to you: Make him think he has everything he wants and then use it trap him!"

"He wants to be human?" asked Yumi.

"He wants to be _free. _He may always be able to escape while in a computer, but he always has to run as well. He _hated_ being in the supercomputer; always having to worry that at any moment you could wise up and pull the switch – he was at your mercy!It pestered him to no end why you wouldn't just eliminate him when you had the means to at any moment. That's how I was made, actually..."

"What do you mean?" asked Aelita, stepping forward. She'd been there when they entered the room, but Jeremy hadn't noticed her...he felt bad about it. Jean explained what he meant,

"X.A.N.A couldn't understand why you would risk not just _your_ lives, but so many others by not killing him, just to save you, Aelita. Or more specifically, why _you_ wouldn't do it, Jeremy."

"Me?" yelped Jeremy, shocked, "Why me?"

"Because, _you're _his intellectual rival. He hates you with nearly every fiber of his being, but he cannot deny your incredible intellect; it's foiled his plans countless times and _nearly _destroyed him. If you were just an average human, he'd have chalked up such a reckless move to simple human imperfection. But because of his respect for your genius, he couldn't believe you would do such a thing without a logical explanation."

Jeremy had nothing to say. He looked at Aelita, she looked at him – they smiled. "But of course," smiled Jean, "there wasn't a _logical _explanation, was there? But he was determined to know, _driven_. So out of that strife to understand what bonded the two of you, I was born. Only he didn't count on my...rebellion. Driven by only desire, X.A.N.A is a purely selfish being – the embodiment of it, almost. Empathy and compassion directly contradict this, so I was soon removed and cast off, like a tumor, but saved. Once he's in position to take over, my abilities will greatly aid in his plan to solve the human equation."

"...But you wan't to make him jump the gun, right? I think I get it now...and I agree!" Jeremy nodded firmly, and began writing a different program. Aelita quickly rushed to his side to see, it didn't take long for her to figure out what he was doing.

"What's going on?" asked Ulrich.

"(_I see...I __**see!**_)" she whispered to Jeremy, "It's brilliant! We already know the scanners can turn organic matter into data and back again, and that they can virtualize that data nearly anywhere in the world as a Spectre. But what Jeremy has done is modify it so that the scanner can be used as an actual transporter for human beings! One way, it seems...but enough for our plan."

"What plan?" asked Odd anxiously.

"You'll go in and assault the database," explained Jean, "but as soon as X.A.N.A feels pressured enough to escape, I'll be teleported in. At which point X.A.N.A will inhabit my body in order to regain his empathy and be free to shape the world with his own hands."

"In now way does that sound like a good thing." stated William.

"It'll be a hard fight, there's no doubt about that," nodded Jeremy, "but human bodies don't have 'back-ups'. If we can kill X.A.N.A in his human form it'll be the end of him."

"...And Jean." Odd realized.

"A small sacrifice," said Jean, raising a hand passively, "this body may not have been a saint, but X.A.N.A had no right to his life...and neither do I. Trust me, this is what I want to do."

"All you've done since we met you is help us," said Yumi, "you kept Aelita's identity a secret when you could've blown our whole story into the open. Are you sure there's no other way?"

"None that I could guarantee success on, and even this plan is a bit 'iffy', as you say. Jeremy can make sure the entirety of X.A.N.A's consciousness, including mine, become permanently merged in this body...but defeating him once that occurs is completely up to you. I know you've seen the strength and abilities X.A.N.A can give to human bodies, do you know what to expect?"

"No," grinned Odd, "but what else is new?"

Jeremy smiled, "Jean, Aelita and I will be making the final arrangements. You all should go back now before you're missed, prepare for tomorrow – the sooner we go after X.A.N.A, the better."

* * *

_Thank you for reading Code: Crisis - episode 10 "Extradition", Please leave a **Review.**  
_

**Next episode: "Extradition – part Two"**


	11. Extradition Part Two

C o d e - C r I s I s

Episode 11

**EXTRADITION – PART TWO**

_Employees of the Month_

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" asked Jeremy to Jean Aime, who was down below in the scanner room, about to step inside.

"Positive, Belpois." and he entered, the door sealing behind him. They were about to execute their final attack against X.A.N.A, or at least part _one o_f their final attack plan. Jean was not a human being...in the traditional sense. He was X.A.N.A's empathic programming inside a human body – put away for 'creative differences' as much as for safekeeping. However X.A.N.A would not go without this precious component for long, so instead of waiting for him to come and hunt them down, they would bring Jean straight to him. Rewriting the scanners' programming, Jeremy was able to set it so that Jean's organic form could be transported straight to the Pentagon – X.A.N.A's current nesting place. Their hope was to force X.A.N.A out of the Pentagon's systems and into Jean's body, which - thanks to another trap Jeremy would set - he wouldn't be able to leave once they had merged. Undoubtedly, with so much power X.A.N.A would be able to mutate or enhance Jean's body to make it a formidable fighting machine, but it would still be human. They could kill it. And humans don't come back nearly as easily as digital programs – even a return trip wouldn't be able to save X.A.N.A...or Jean. Jeremy still wasn't completely sure whether or not to consider Jean an innocent party in all of this, but if he was to believe what Jean had said – that he was made almost completely by accident – it would seem he was.

Jean's story was that X.A.N.A spawned him in order to understand human emotion, more specifically the connection between the evil program's arch nemesis Jeremy and his partner Aelita. X.A.N.A had been confounded as to how their bond could be strong enough to keep his greatest enemy from easily destroying him with the flick of a switch. X.A.N.A's project was a success, but he didn't learn the right lesson from the experience; instead of actually becoming compassionate himself, X.A.N.A decided that human emotions were weaknesses that could be exploited—something he did many times during their original battles. But now on it's own, X.A.N.A's compassionate counterpart was going to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to allow the Lyoko Warriors to take down the vile machine once and for all. The event almost reminded Jeremy of Franz Hopper's sacrifice during the last battle, but he dared not speak it aloud. Aelita would most certainly not feel the same way, or so he thought.

"I don't like this," she sighed. "I'm not saying we can't trust him - we don't really even have a choice - but how do we know X.A.N.A didn't plan on one of his own programs rebelling against him? We could lose Uncle Jean for nothing and just give X.A.N.A more power!"

It hit Jeremy like a cement truck. _'Uncle'_ Jean, she'd called him. She _was_ attached to him. After all, for the past three years he had been posing as her uncle to help drive away suspicions and investigations from school staff and neighbors. Jeremy was always grateful for what Jean did for her, but never really became overly fond of Jean himself. He never stopped to realize that besides their friends and himself, Aelita _had no family_. There would be times when she'd invite him along when they went to a movie or the park, or when she'd just visit him at the factory to chat instead of just to give payment or food. She must've been really upset about all this, but Jeremy didn't know what he could do about it; time was too short to consider any other options. It seemed Aelita was doomed to lose yet another family member in order to stop X.A.N.A.

"I'm sorry, Aelita," he said, his voice quivering with heartfelt honesty. "I just don't know what else to do." And he pressed the key to start the scanner. Jean's DNA was stored in the database as he was virtualized. Specifically, he was going to a special subsystem Jeremy had prepared in the supercomputer. When they needed him, Jeremy would be able to transfer Jean in an instant. Ulrich, Yumi, Odd and William were already in the lift, making their way down to the scanners. Aelita was still by Jeremy, watching as the data was stored.

"I believe in you too, Jeremy," she said as she kissed him. "I know we'll make it as long as you're here to back us up." She put her hand on his shoulder gently before turning to for the elevator, but just as she was about to go Jeremy grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into a kiss of his own. Needless to say she was very surprised, in nearly all the time she'd known him Jeremy had never been one to _start _a kiss – the last time he did he turned out to be a Spectre of X.A.N.A. But as he held her in his arms and she felt his heartbeat against her chest, she knew it was really him.

"I promise," he said, letting her go, "I won't let us down this time."

"Jeremy!" gasped Aelita, concerned as well as surprised, "We _never_ thought you..." before she could finish, Jeremy was already back the the computer, completely focused on the screen. She wanted to say something else, but he was right: time was short. The lift returned. With a sigh she entered, her eyes on Jeremy until it closed. Down below the others were waiting on Jeremy's instructions.

"So how's this gonna work?" asked William.

"I don't know how long using Jean as a key-code will keep the barrier down," said Jeremy, "so I'm sending you, Ulrich, and Odd first to clear the way."

"But don't we need Aelita? For...you know...stuff?" asked Odd, scratching his head.

"No," explained Jeremy. "Remember, we're just trying to scare X.A.N.A out of the Pentagon's computers. Nothing is going in except Jean, and I'll handle that from here. If the barrier stays down I'll send Aelita and Yumi to cover you if things get too hot."

"That's another thing I'm worried about," said Ulrich, "I doubt we'll go unseen, and security's sure to be thick. Do you expect us to just go slashing our way through innocent people? We'll start a war."

"That's why I modified your weapons, yet again." said Jeremy, grinning proudly, "Ulrich, your blades will be able to pass through organic matter while giving a potent, but in the long-run harmless, electrical shock. It's guaranteed to put any one of them out for one hour – and we won't be there that long. I've made similar adjustments to Odd's arrows; and now his guided arrows will explode with knockout gas (which you'll be immune to, as Spectres) instead of shrapnel."

"What about me?" asked William, "My sword doesn't go through _anything _without leaving a mark."

"...But your Sword Streak attacks do. As for your blade itself...you'll just have to be careful. I can't seem to alter that part of it's program without making it completely useless. While we're on the subject, Yumi, I've added a new weapon to your repertoire: Throwing Needles. They start solid enough, but turn to energy when thrown and act much like Ulrich's swords; giving a knockout shock to the target."

"But what about..."

"AND I've provided special masks for you all to wear in order to conceal your identity. You can speak normaly through them, even shout, but only you and the team will hear each other speak. So, is everyone ready?" They all looked around at each other and nodded in turn. Just then Aelita came out of the elevator and joined them, she nodded as well.

"We're ready, Jeremy."

Ulrich smiled, "_Alors allons_."

Odd nodded. "And so we go."

As planned, Odd, Ulrich and William entered the scanners first. They called in their names and shouted the code: 'Crisis'. In a flash they were gone, and the girls waited for word from Jeremy. "I'm activating Jean's key now...it's working! I can get through X.A.N.A's barrier!"

Aelita hopped with joy, "Excellent, Jeremy! How close can you get them?"

"There's a secondary barrier immediately surrounding the database X.A.N.A's stored in – it's in what looks like a basement, of sorts. The closest I can put them is about two floors above, and the same goes for you two. They'll have to clear the arrival point and then work their way down. You'll follow behind when the coast is clear."

"Why do we have to wait?" asked Yumi, annoyed, "I thought you said we would back them up?"

"She's right, Jeremy," agreed Aelita. She knew Jeremy was just being overprotective. "We shouldn't delay support. If they get overwhelmed and defeated it'll be just the two of us." Jeremy nodded.

"You're right, of course. Get in the scanners, the boys should be arriving just about...now."

-

His name was Bob Larson, and he was nobody in particular.

He enjoyed working at the Pentagon. He was in communications and helped to overlook suspicious chatter. He wasn't amazing at it or anything, but good enough to be well liked by his superiors and co-workers. He had a strong marriage with his wife of 12 years, Olivia, and a great relationship with his 6 year old son, Bobby Jr. It was a slow day at his station, but that didn't mean Bob and his friends were slacking in the least; they were just a bit more loose and friendly with each other than usual. It wasn't all gritted teeth and barked orders like the folks on '24' (one of his favorite shows). Occasionally a higher up would drop by for some notes, but it'd always be pleasant – he knew most of their kids through his wife, who was a teacher at his son's school. At the moment there was a particularly long lull in activity on the monitors, so his buddy Al volunteered to keep an eye on his screen while he went to get their team some snacks from the vending machine. Bob liked his snacks, but never ate too much to get overweight – and always balanced it with plenty of exercise on the weekends. Yep, all things considered Bob Larson was a very good-natured, straitlaced and all around nice-guy. Besides a few bullies from back in middle school who still liked to tease him now and then, he didn't have an enemy in the world. Which is why when he suddenly found himself with a glowing energy blade sticking out of his stomach, he could say nothing more than

"..._You **got** to be kidding me_..." before collapsing against the snack machine and sliding to the floor - unconscious, but no worse for wear. Ulrich gently pulled out his blade as was relieved to see there was no blood on it; Jeremy's modifications had worked.

"_Whew_," he sighed, "no harm done."

"You know," noted Jeremy, "if you were worried about killing him you _could've _just cut through his leg or something – the sword's effect works on contact with organic matter, regardless of where on the body it connects."

"Well, that's good to know..._now_." muttered Ulrich, embarrased.

"So why did you put us in the break room?" asked Odd.

"I didn't _know _it was the break room," groaned Jeremy, "it just seemed like an out of the way place and it and it was near X.A.N.A's database. Detailed layouts for the inside of the Department of Defense AREN'T easy to get...which is why I don't have one. I'm sending out signals from your Spectre forms like sonar in order to map the surrounding area." Ulrich had almost forgot they were Spectres. He didn't feel any different than he would on Lyoko or a Replika, and instead of looking like a video game character he appeared as his normal self...in a ninja outfit...with a mask on...whatever. He peeked out in the hallway – all clear – he made 'go' gesture while still keeping an eye out, William was about to step out when Odd grabbed him.

"_William, wait."_

"_What is it?" _asked, somewhat annoyed at the timing.

"_I know this is a bad time, but I gotta know...Back in 'Dry Run', how did you attack me with with your sword even after I used my Foresight? It's been driving me nuts!"_

"_I didn't attack you,"_ answered Will, "_I just caught my sword."_

"_Oh. Wait...**what**?_"

William grinned as he neglected to follow up with his answer; Odd would just have to figure it out for himself. Will exited into the hallway, careful to keep from hitting anything with his sword – he never quite realized how unwieldy it was until now. Odd was right behind him and slowly the two made their way for the stairs, when they were there and opening the door Ulrich followed after them. As Odd and William started to descend the stairwell, Odd asked "What about the security cameras?"

"Dealt with," said Jeremy, "since you're essentially holograms I was able to put a filter on all the cameras, making you invisible to them. _People,_ however, will still be able to see you." As if to drive the point home, just as Ulrich was about to join them in the stairwell someone came around the corner from just down the hall.

"Hey Bob, what's keeping you with the..." he looked up from his notepad to see a masked ninja following a teen with a big ass sword and some kind of dog boy disappear behind a closing stairway door. He wasn't stupid enough to call out at them, he saw Ulrich's glowing swords and decided to play it safe. When the door closed he ran into the nearest office and picked up the phone. He dialed a special emergency number for inside the building and spoke to the officer on the other side. "This is Al Morrie – communications – I just saw three very strange looking characters heading downstairs, towards the processors!"

"Strange?" asked the Officer, sounding skeptical, "How so? Could you describe them?"

"Uh...one was dressed kind of like a ninja, the next had a big sword and the last..." he could hardly believe what was coming out of his own mouth "...was dressed in a purple dog suit."

There was a bit of silence on the other line, before an entirely unexpected response.

"We'll get right on it, Mr. Morrie."

"What? Are you making fun of me? I really DID see..."

"I'm sure you saw _something_, Mr. Morrie. Don't worry, I'll deal with this personally."

"Personally? Oh no, you don't have to_**GACK...**_" Al choked as around the ear he had against the phone his veins started to turn black, spreading like a plague across his forehead and into his eyes. He dropped the phone, he didn't see the strange black ink that crawled, as if it were alive, back into the earpiece. Soon the veins of ooze had spread to his arms and hands, and he could feel it spreading through his whole body, down into his legs and feet. Everywhere it went he lost control over, until finally his whole world turned black. He was an Agent, now. His X.A.N.A-eyes flickered as it focused them on the stairwell door. With demonic speed the possessed analyst ran up to it and kicked it in effortlessly. It hit the wall on the other side and fell down the center of the stairs, right past the descending Warriors.

"That can't be good." Odd gulped.

They looked up to see the Agent standing on the railing at the top of the stairwell, looking down at them with evil eyes. They were several flights beneath him, but tery knew enough to pick up the pace regardless.

"Run!" shouted Ulrich, leading the retreat. The Agent didn't bother taking the stairs. Instead if jumped off the railing and fell straight down the center towards them. When it reached them it reached out and grabbed the railing of their steps to stop itself; it was now right next to them. Before Ulrich could give an order it reached over the railing and grabbed him by his collar, and threw him across to the opposite flight of stairs just beneath them. Ulrich hit the wall hard and slid down, bruising his ribs against the stairs. The Agent seemed to ignore William and Odd completely. It leaped from their stair rail and landed down in front of Ulrich, who got up to fight it. He punched it hard in the face to no effect; the Agent barely flinched. He tried a kick but it ducked under, and before he could even bring his foot down it lunged forward and hit him hard in the stomach. It felt like someone had thrown a brick at him and pointblank range. It followed up with an uppercut, landing him flat against the stairs – which hurt – but not as much as its next move was going to; it jumped up and prepared to stomp Ulrich right on the head.

In the nick of time he rolled out of the way, got up and threw himself over the railing. The Agent landed leaving a heavy dent in the metal step where Ulrich's head had just been. Ulrich was holding onto the side of steps through the railing, hanging. Slowly the Agent turned to him, getting ready to step on his fingers. Just as it was about to bring its foot down, three laser arrows passed through its chest. It fell back against the wall in shock, but a moment later was alert and unharmed. It stared at Odd angrily before gripping the railing and propping his feet against the wall behind itself. It pushed itself into a squat against the wall and kicked off, launching itself up at Odd at startling speed. Before he could react Odd found himself pinned against the wall by the Agent's knees. The wind knocked out of him, he fell to the floor, groaning in pain. It then turned its attention towards William, who was already preparing to slice it in half. It ducked, letting William's sword get caught in the wall just over Odd's head as it jumped back onto the railing. It swung itself around, using the rail like a pummel horse until it slammed William's head into the wall with a powerful kick – the force made a small crater in the concrete. It leaped back over to the the other stairs where Ulrich had just pulled himself back up, and started towards him.

"William, watch your sword!" shouted Jeremy, "it's not a Spectre, it's a real person possessed by X.A.N.A!"

William groaned as he pulled his head out of the wall, "Thanks for the heads up, Jeremy. Where's that backup?"

"Right here!" Aelita was at the top of the stairwell, standing on the railing just as the Agent had been when it arrived. The Agent forgot about Ulrich and with a powerful leap went straight up towards Aelita. She jumped down and starting falling to meet him in the air and fired to energy fields. One he dodged, the second connected – stopping his ascent and stunning him. Aelita caught him by the throat as she fell and, activating her wings, began to dive straight down the center of the stairwell, holding the Agent by the neck. She sped past the boys who could only watch in awe as she slammed him into the bottom floor with a loud yell, making a deep crater in the paneling. The Agent didn't move, it only wheezed. A moment later the blackness melted from it's eyes and skin into a pool that slipped away under the door, leaving the man behind, battered but alive – and unconscious. "Come on," she ordered, "that should lead us straight to X.A.N.A!" Without waiting for the others, she kicked open the door and chased after it.

"Whoa," gasped Odd, "anyone else feeling totally emasculated?"

"You should be." snickered Yumi and she casually walked by them, "It would've been me, but she won 'paper, rock, scissors'. You coming, or what?" All the men looked at each other stupefied, then Ulrich shrugged and they obediently followed. Down below Aelita was following the ooze down a dark hallway, the only light coming from dim red klaxons in the ceiling. They flashed as if on high alert, but made no sound. They passed several important-looking doors until they reached one that seemed particularly secure. It had electronic locks and looked like it could survive a nuclear blast. Before she could catch it, the ooze crawled up the door and seeped between the keys of the electronic key pad – and it was gone. It frustrated her, but gave the others time to catch up.

"Jeremy," she called, "what's our status?"

"With you so deep inside I can get readings on almost everyone in the Pentagon! I can't help but feel a little guilty..."

"Get over it, Einstein," huffed Odd, "it's not like we're taking pictures or anything."

"Right. Well, it does seem like X.A.N.A's entered a high alert state. But I don't see much activity from X.A.N.A personally, though I'm having a tough time reading what's behind the door."

"Can you get us in?" asked Aelita,

"Yes, just enter 12 numbers and I can turn it into the right code. Then put your thumb on the adjacent scanner and it will automatically read you as authorized personnel."

"Wow," said Ulrich, "I see what you mean, Jeremy. With the supercomputer this is almost too easy. You could get in almost anywhere you wanted, take whatever you liked, and escape without leaving a trace – like a ghost."

"_Or a Spectre..._" Jeremy whispered to himself, he reflected for a minute on Project Carthage, the device X.A.N.A was built to destroy. Supposedly it was just to 'disrupt enemy communications', but now that he thought about it, Jeremy couldn't really see how such a simple goal would require Franz Hopper to create such a powerful computer or a program like X.A.N.A to stop it. What if...?

"Jeremy, we're in!" called Aelita, "Get ready, everyone, this is it!" Jeremy shook the thoughts from his head – this was no time for hypothesizing; they were in the middle of an operation! Aelita had already entered her fake pass code and thumb-print and the light turned green as the door hissed open and they went inside. They moved swiftly and precisely, like soldiers breaching a terrorist cell. They checked corners, covered each other, and moved through the room systematically. There were no compartments or sections inside the long area, just row after row of what looked like computer servers, as well as hard drives.

"I don't get it," said Odd quietly, "don't American's ever check on their equipment? How could they not know something happened down here if it's so important?"

"Don't underestimate X.A.N.A," answered William. "Once he got inside their computers he could alter or fabricate any information he wanted. That Agent was only a spur-of-the-moment response to our intrusion. Chances are he's infected or impersonated other people in the Pentagon much more subtly. In others words, they probably think it's already _been_ checked, and even have the records to prove it."

"...Which are fake, of course." sighed Odd.

"Of course."

"Quiet," ordered Aelita, "I think I hear something!" At the other end of the room was a wide double-door, from behind it she could hear what sounded like several footfalls rushing towards it. "Take cover, something is coming!" she called. They all quickly ducked behind the stacked hard drives, keeping keen eyes on the door. "Don't fire," she said, "until we know what we're up against." The footsteps grew louder and louder until they finally stopped right at the door. Suddenly it was kicked up and a group of soldiers, all wearing heavy black combat outfits rushed out in a tactical order – defensive positions in front of the door. After they'd all settled, Aelita was able to catch a brief glimpse of a particularly threatening master computer inside the room before that last trooper shut the door. They looked like a very well trained strike force, but strangely were armed with katanas instead of guns. Ulrich could tell by the way they held them that the soldiers knew how to use them.

"Why...?" William started to ask.

"They don't want to risk a firefight around the computers." said Aelita.

"Do we?" asked Yumi.

"We can't risk it, either," answer Jeremy, "they may contain parts of X.A.N.A, but they all contain U.S military information. Damaging them could have dire consequences, not to mention draw unnecessary attention from above. It's close quarters combat only, I'm afraid."

William grinned, "Now you're speaking my language!" He ran forward, holding his sword low and tried to strike at the nearest soldier, but he rolled forward under William's sword and sliced at his knee. The Lyoko Warrior keeled over only briefly before managing to block another attack by a different soldier. As he was blocking it, the first one tried to run him through the back but Ulrich caught it's attention and drew him into a fight of their own. There were five troops in all, only three left unoccupied. Yumi threw her fans carefully to draw the attention of two, they deflected her fans straight back to her – as she expected, they charged and she ran in to meet them. Aelita was staying back, keeping an eye on the entire melee and looking for a good moment to fire a shot. The last troop wasn't going to wait around and ran up to attack her, but Odd jumped in front and fired an arrow straight for him. At first it seemed like the troop would simply deflect it, but it eyed the computers for a moment and instead raised its forearm and took it in the arm instead. Odd watched in surprise as the arrow seemed to melt into the soldier's arm – clothes and all. It wasn't a person.

"It's a Spectre!" Odd exclaimed, "Let 'em have it, guys!" He ran forward on all fours and, taking full advantage of the claw-like arrow sights on his gloves, punched the troop hard in the chest and ripped away as hard as he could. There was no blood, just black mist and spatters of ooze. The creature hissed as it backed away, clutching the wound. Then it, along with all the other Spectre troops' eyes turned blood red, with X.A.N.A-symbol pupils blinking inside. Enraged, they too cut loose on the Lyoko Warriors. Yumi soon regretted having drawn the attention of two of them as it wall all she could do to keep them at bay with her fans. She managed to get in a few good slices but if it hurt them they didn't show it. They'd almost trapped her when two Ulrichs zipped in their way and pushed them back. William was trying desperately to hit the troop he was fighting but it wasn't easy; the thing was far too nimble. William could move his sword surprisingly fast for its size, but the soldier was always one step ahead. Fortunately it wasn't able to get close enough to attack, but Will was getting tired of all the blind swinging. Finally he stopped swing and just held his sword lazily at his side.

"I'm tired," he huffed, "you come _here._" He gestured for it to attack him. It seemed surprised for a moment until it charged, holding it's sword high but close, ready to deflect William's blade. So it was upon him and William still hadn't flinched, or changed the very bored expression on his face. The soldier was still confused but didn't hesitate and raised it's sword for a finishing blow. In that moment William raised his foot and kicked forward _hard_, launching the soldier backwards across the room and into a wall of computers. Several screens shattered and electrified the troop, it's 'soldier' facade melting away until it plopped onto the floor as a pool of ooze, burning as if it were oil.

"William..." said Jeremy, frustrated.

"Sorry," he sighed, "but that thing was really starting to piss me off." Meanwhile Odd was still trying to protect Aelita from the trooper that was assaulting them. It was difficult; Odd was agile, but not a 'ninja' like Ulrich or Yumi. Odd kept backing up and deflecting the attacks but he and Aelita were running out of room to retreat, so he decided he'd had enough. He hopped over it's next swipe and flipped, landing in a handstand. The soldier was startled, so Odd took advantage of the moment to kick it over and over in the face, forcing it back. When it finally got the sense to fight back, Odd let his body drop down under the swing and, supporting his weight on his arms, swung his legs around and knocked it off it's feet. It tried in vain to strike at him but he leaped away, and while it's eyes were on him Aelita rushed forward and crushed a fully charged energy field straight into its face. It twitched violently as it's face melted under her hand, before it collapsed and dissolved away like the others.

Yumi was in the center of Ulrich's triangulate as he fought off all three of the remaining troopers at once, Yumi was grateful at first, but soon grew annoyed.

"I can take care of myself, you know. Who do you think taught you those moves?"

"Hey!" snapped Ulrich, offended but still fighting, "I was a fighter long before I met you. Would a simple 'thanks' be too much to ask?" Yumi sighed,

"Thank you, Ulrich..." she then ran forward and flipped over his head, so that a soldier was between them. Before it could react she sliced hard straight through it's neck, severing its head completely. It hit the ground and dissolved, followed soon by the body. Ulrich got the hint by calling back in his doubles and leaping out of the way, the remaining two soldiers were confused for a minute before deciding to attack Yumi. They struck at the same time. With little effort she blocked both attacks with her fans and then shut them, trapping the swords inside. With a quick yank she threw both their weapons - and hers - behind herself, leaving them all unarmed—or so it would seem. She had remembered the extra pieces Jeremy had added to her arsenal. She reached up and in her hair, looking like ordinary pins, were the throwing needles. She plucked them out between her fingers and held them almost like claws, one trooper tried to attack but with just a few motions she deflected its punches then rammed all the needles of her right hand into its face and eyes. As it keeled over in pain she quickly followed up with the rest of the needles into the back of its neck, it let out one last violent cough of ooze before it collapsed and dissolved.

There was only one troop left and it was all hers, the others just stood back and enjoyed the show. It started with some punches, which were strong, but Yumi was adept at catching and deflecting the blows; all they did was throw the soldier itself off-balance. Seeing the futility, it tried high and low kicks instead. She dodged them easily and connected one of her own to its chin in exchange. Angered, it's eyes flared before it simply charged at her in a blind rage. Unimpressed, she decided this had gone on long enough and stopped it with a crushing palm to the throat. It hopped about choking, but she didn't let up. She ran up and grabbed its arm, pulled it over her shoulder and broke it. It couldn't even scream, it only gargled meekly as it choked. She then spun around behind it and kicked it hard in the side of its knee, snapping its leg. It let out another muffled groan, finally she grabbed it firmly by the head and finished it with one strong twist. There was a loud, thick crack as it's neck broke, then it fell and melted away. Ulrich bowed honorably and handed her the fans she dropped.

"Unbelievable." he said, astounded. She smiled.

"Never forget it."

Aelita wasn't watching the event. When it seemed Yumi wouldn't have any trouble winning, Aelita had already gone to try and open the double doors. They were locked and she was trying to melt through slowly using a tight, focused energy field. William ushered he aside and charged his sword,

"No offense, Princess. But we don't have all day." With a broad smack he bashed the doors open, and inside was their target: X.A.N.A.

* * *

_Thank you for reading Code: Crisis - episode 10 "Extradition – Part Two" - Please leave a review.  
_

Next episode: "Extradition – part Three"


	12. Extradition Part Three

C o d e - C r I s I s

Episode 12

**EXTRADITION – PART THREE**

_Friend or Faux_

* * *

The result was...surprisingly anticlimactic. They had expected some huge, black super entity, oozing over a powerful and threatening computer like some kind of tumor, with an Eye of X.A.N.A engraved on it - at least that would've been cool. Instead what they found in the room they'd broken into didn't look all that different from the one they just left. There were many large computers stacked next to each other in rows, leading up to one master computer at the end of the room. It wasn't until they looked a bit closer that they could see X.A.N.A's hands at work. Crawling all over the machines, the floor, and the ceilings were tiny, mite-sized robotic insects. They were transmitting energy and information between themselves, the computers, and the master CPU with tiny, rapid zaps of electricity – making the entire room seem to glow. Aelita was quick to try and stomp the swarms of pests that were at her feet, but they seemed to be avoiding her and the others by quite a safe distance.

"Look! There's someone here!" shouted Odd, pointing at one of the computer racks. Ulrich could see that there was someone, an adult, behind it working on the computers. He quickly sprinted around and and grabbed him by the arm, holding his sword to the worker's neck with his free hand. He was about to slice through and disable him when he felt a sharp pain in his hand, he looked to see the it was now covered in the tiny mites! Startled he quickly shook them off and backed away from the worker, who continued to operate the computers as if nothing had happened. Aelita walked up and charged a small energy field to use as a light.

"_Oh my God._" she gasped, the unfortunate person was covered head to toe in the tiny robots. His eyes were completely blank, without so much as a X.A.N.A pupil. The mites were everywhere, crawling out from under his nails, in and out of his nose, mouth and ears, even across the surface of his eyes. They were controlling him completely.

"Oh _man_," groaned William, "he _stinks_." At first Yumi was angered at such an insensitive comment, but it was true – the worker positively _reeked – _as if he hadn't bathed (or taken _any_ sort of trip to the bathroom) in days, the Mites were _using_ him, but not _maintaining_ him in the least. As they continued down the line they were shocked to see more people, nearly a dozen, all being used the same way. But the most horrifying scene was at the very end of the room. There were bodies - not many, but more than enough to be disturbing - the bodies of other workers, used up and withered from undernourishment lying together in a heap like waste. Mites were covering them even more thickly than the live workers, each one taking a tiny piece of a body and self-destructing – incinerating it. It made the pile look red hot, as if they were burning away in an oven. The entire team was frozen in terror. Aelita had been with nerves of steel until now. She felt like screaming. Then one of the bodies nearest to them had its exposed spine worn through at the neck, and with a sickening snap the head dropped and rolled out of the pile towards them before a swarm of hot Mites, looking like a pool of lava, raced after it and dragged it back. It was too much, Aelita started to flip out – screaming in horror as she desperately tried to push through the others to get out.

"Let me go, let me go! I can't stand it..."

"Aelita, calm down!" shouted Yumi, grasping her tightly by the shoulders.

"_I've had enough of this,_" said William through clenched teeth, heading back for the main computer, "let's just rip the damn thing apart and get the hell out of here!" Suddenly the entire room began to shake violently, the Mites dropped off of the workers and started to speed back towards the main computer, ignoring the warriors as they passed.

"What's going on?" asked Odd,

"X.A.N.A just started drawing an enormous amount of power from inside and around the Pentagon, the whole building's blacked out. Fortunately I managed to trigger an alarm before the lights went out."

"What sort of an alarm?" asked Yumi, "Do you mean they're going to send real soldiers down here?"

"To the Pentagon, anyway. The alarm I triggered was for a bomb threat. Hopefully they're evacuating the building. But right now you need to get back to the main computer. Jean's still in limbo, ready for transport."

"Roger..." said Aelita, regaining her senses. She nodded for Yumi to let her go and they all rushed to beat the Mites to the main computer. When they reached it, it was already covered in them so tightly it looked almost pure black. Then a group of Mites on the screen started to heat up and glow, making a X.A.N.A eye appear. From it a holographic image of the young, servile William was shown – X.A.N.A's preferred avatar, it would seem. This ticked Will off to no end. "X.A.N.A!" Aelita shouted at it, "What are you doing?"

"_What you expected:_" the image answered innocently, "_preparing myself for transport. I must say I didn't expect you to become this desperate so soon, but I suppose in the face of insurmountable odds..._"

"What is he talking about?" asked Ulrich.

Jeremy frowned, "He knew we were coming."

"_Yes, I did," _said X.A.N.A, _"but as I said, I didn't expect you here so **soon**. I had hoped to have worked out some alternative to this particular failsafe by now..."_

_"_He's talking about Jean." explained Jeremy.

"..._But I didn't plan on one of my own components malfunctioning so...**adamantly**."_

"You mean thinking for himself?" Yumi raised and eyebrow, X.A.N.A frowned.

"_Free will is an **extravagance**, and in **my** world it will be **earned **rather than wasted on every weak minded simpleton with a loose tongue._"

"Enough of this..." muttered Jeremy as he activated the teleporter. In a bright beam of light Jean Aime materialized between the others and the projection of X.A.N.A, for a minute it appeared surprised, before returning to a neutral expression.

"_So," _hissed X.A.N.A, "_the prodigal son has returned." _

Jean smiled. "Miss me, Pops?"

_"Let us cease these formalities," _said X.A.N.A sternly, "_you think you can destroy me by 'trapping' me in a human shell. While I'm more than willing to concede that a **human **form does come with significant disadvantages, how effectual a human body can be depends entirely on who is in control of it. Not only will you not have the power to stop me when my transformation completes, you won't even have the **will.**"_

"What are you talking about?" asked Ulrich, gripping his sword tightly.

_"I may not have learned everything about humanity...**yet**...but I know your **weaknesses**, your varying standards of morality and justice keep you from being united, but the consensus - the value of human life – seems to permeate throughout the majority of your ideologies."_

"Could one of you smart people translate, please?" asked Odd, rolling his eyes.

"He thinks that once he inhabits Jean Aime, we won't kill him." explained Yumi, she didn't notice Aelita expression turn just a little nervous, but she quickly shook it off.

"You're getting sloppy, X.A.N.A." shouted Aelita, "You really believe we'd think you'd let Jean live once you posses him? Even if you did, we know enough not to hold back; we won't make that mistake ever again."

X.A.N.A scoffed, "_Hmph, believe whatever you want. I know you better than you know yourselves. You talk big, but when the moment comes you'll hesitate. You did when I planted the virus in Aelita, and again when Franz Hopper had to sacrifice himself to power the multi-system agent – even though my escape plan had already been put into effect, thus making his **noble **deed utterly **worthless**."_ Aelita choked, she hadn't the time to really think about it until now but X.A.N.A was right. Because he was still alive, her father's sacrifice _had_ been in vain – he died for nothing. She exploded in rage, charging two energy fields and throwing them at the projection. They passed through and hit the computer, causing X.A.N.A to cringe in pain.

"Come out so I can finish you once and for all!" she shouted, tears running down her cheeks. X.A.N.A growled.

"_We'll see who finishes whom, Schaeffer!_" he hissed, and the projection ended. At that moment all the Mites in the room started towards them, dropping from the ceiling and walls and even abandoning the workers. They readied their weapons but the Mites passed right by them, heading straight for Jean.

"Jean!" shouted Aelita, "Look out! Run!" Jean didn't move, he just stared away sadly.

"I'm sorry, but this is how it must end for me."

Aelita was racked with panic, firing shots wildly at the storm of Mites as they started to work his way up his legs and cover his body.

"No, NO!" she screamed, "Jeremy! Get him out of here! Teleport him back now! _Please!_"Jeremy couldn't take hearing her call out to him in grief, but the process had to continue. Crying, he took of his headset and cast it away – still watching everything as it happened on the screen. Even though he couldn't hear her, he could still see she was screaming his name as she tried desperately to blast away the Mites as they covered Jean.

"_I'm sorry._"he whispered, hanging his head. Back with the others, bolts of dark lightning started shooting from the main computer screen and all the surrounding servers, hitting Jean and causing his to yell and scream in pain. The Mites ignited, causing his clothes to burn away in flames along with parts of his skin and muscle, only to be replaced with black ooze.

"We have to get out of here!" shouted Ulrich over the storm, he grabbed the still protesting Aelita by the arm and pulled her to the exit as they all tried to escape the event. She could still see Jean, enshrouded in flames and dark lightning, shouting in agony as she was pulled away. When they were back upstairs they saw that all the lights had gone off and there was a storm brewing outside the windows, they could also see that Jeremy's alarm had worked; all the people were being evacuated. Then the whole building started to shake.

"What's going on?" shouted William, Jeremy quickly put back on his headset, wiped his eyes and started pressing keys.

"I'm not sure, I'm going to transport you guys outside so you can take a better look." A moment later they all rematerialized outside at the edge of the Pentagon parking lot. They could see large groups of people being gathered a safe distance away from the building, fortunately no one had noticed their arrival, still it was only a matter of time before the guards spotted them in their flamboyant outfits. But all this paled by the _main_ attraction – dark clouds, similar to the ones William saw in Run Down were swirling like a hurricane in the sky over the center of the Pentagon, shooting down bolts of dark lighting all over the outside of the building, blasting off pieces of concrete and shattering windows. Soon the winds started to pick up even more speed and light objects started to be drawn towards the forming tornado as it sank down from the clouds right into the center yard of the building.

"It's not wind," said Jeremy, "it's X.A.N.A's essence! Those computers in the basement weren't enough, he was stored throughout the entire complex! Now he's drawing himself into Jean's body." Driving the point home, a small figure could be seen at distance rising up into the energy spiral, drawing in the massive amounts of power through repeated strikes of lighting. Aelita could just barely see him through the thick, dark mist, but his body was almost purely black, like ink. He wasn't screaming anymore, or even flinching as the lightning strikes increased in rate and ferocity, soon he was almost completely entombed in their dark light. He opened his eyes, which were blood red pools of misty water, and let out a loud, deep roar as the entire Pentagon erupted in light. Beams of energy shot out each window and crack pf the building as it shook apart and collapsed in on itself, the people had already started running to escape the clouds of dust and debris that chased them. Though the dust storm was slow, a shock wave of light exploded from the body of X.A.N.A and engulfed them all at an insane speed, then all was quiet.

Aelita could see nothing. She could hear nothing. All was white.

Then she slowly began to hear a quiet, but still turbulent wind rushing past her ears as the whiteout started to fade. The entire sky was dark and she was on her back, all her friends had also been knocked down and were slowly lifting themselves up. Soon she could hear Jeremy as well, calling out to her faintly (but frantically) in her head, she looked in the distance to see that the Pentagon had been reduced to rubble, and standing on the top next to a bent pole waving a torn American flag was a familiar figure. She could see him clearly now. His body was pure darkness, with thins lines of dark red light just barely highlighting his muscles and veins. His hair was blood red, almost luminous, and long. His mouth wasn't visible, but the dim red lines showed the shape of his nose and face muscles, and his eyes were still bright red pools of effervescence. And of course on his chest, shining every grimly, was the eye of X.A.N.A. A dark mist was enshrouding him. At first Aelita thought it was just smoke from the wreckage, but as he started to step down she could see it was following him, swirling around his person like a long cowl. There were some people nearby trying to crawl or limp away from the terrifying entity, but the smoke, which acted with a life of it's own, would quickly attack and suffocate them. They didn't become Agents, they were simply left dead as X.A.N.A continued past without so much as a glance at their suffering.

"Let's go," said Aelita quietly as Odd helped her to her feet, "it's time to end this." and they all began walking to meet X.A.N.A.

"I can't even begin to tell you how much power I'm reading from him," gasped Jeremy, "I've returned all your weapons to lethal capacity and increased the strength of all your forms to the utmost limit. I'm transferring power to you via satellite from nearby power plants as well as the supercomputer; you're now stronger than you've ever been before." William clenched his fist, Jeremy was right; he _did _feel stronger – his sword was like a feather in his hand and he felt like he could run 10 miles without stopping to catch a breath.

"So what do we say?" asked Odd excitedly.

"What are you talking about?" snapped Aelita,

"Oh come _on,_" he continued, "it's the final fight! Good vs. Evil! Heroes against Villain for the fate humanity! We _need _a tag-line! Like...'Lyoko Warriors...GO!' or 'Hasta la Vista, X.A.N.A!' or 'Yoo-hoo it's us time', _ANYTHING! _We can't just let this go quietly, can we?" Suddenly Yumi whipped out her fans and held them up high,

"_Everybody kick his ass, **NOW!**_" she shouted, then charged. The others barely had a moment to gawk before they chased after her, readying their weapons.

"That'll work, I guess." sighed Odd, charging his guided arrows and then firing. They sped as spiraling streaks of white light straight for X.A.N.A, who continued his slow stroll towards the warriors as if nothing was even happening. As they neared him, X.A.N.A raised his hand ever so gently, as if to swat a fly, and a wall of smoke softly rose in the path of the arrows, completely absorbing them. Odd's jaw dropped but William was undeterred, casting off two streak attacks that ripped through the pavement as they sped towards X.A.N.A. With another simple gesture a smoke wedge appeared in their path, changing their direction so that they crashed into two parked cars instead, causing them to explode. Ulrich triplicated and began his own assault. X.A.N.A chuckled in a deep, gravely tone before doing a 'flick' with his fingers. Spires of darkness shot out of the ground in in Ulrichs' paths that they had to move quickly to dodge, but it didn't take long before the two doubles were impaled and destroyed. Ulrich ignored their demise and kept closing distance between him and X.A.N.A, who'd decided to stop with the spike attacks. Soon Ulrich was upon him and jumped up, ready to bring down his sword and cut X.A.N.A in half. With barely any effort, X.A.N.A smacked him aside, sending Ulrich flailing like a rag doll into a nearby car, breaking through the window and crashing into the backseat.

"Ulrich!" cried Yumi, who stopped her own attack run to go and help him.

"Yumi, don't!" shouted Aelita, but Yumi ignored her and didn't notice the discreet trail of dark smoke X.A.N.A had sent under the car Ulrich had crashed into. Just she approached it from the front, the rear of the car was bounced up by a sudden jut of smoke, flipping the car (and Ulrich) right onto Yumi's head, flattening her underneath – she was still alive, but stuck. Ulrich quickly tried to use his sword to cut through the roof (which was now under his feet) and let her out.

"_**Damn you!**_" shouted an enraged Aelita as she opened her wings and soared low towards X.A.N.A, two large energy fields ready to fire.

"Aelita, no!" shouted Jeremy, but she was blinded by raged. She fused the two spheres into one great orb of pink energy and prepared to collide it with X.A.N.A, who with another sinister chuckled gestured up another smoke shield. With all her might she slammed her attack into the shield and tried to break through but to no avail, even though the smoke wall didn't look like much of a barrier she couldn't penetrate it. Through the light of her attack and the veil of smoke she could see X.A.N.A looking at her, his hair blowing slowly in the wind. Without a mouth it was hard to tell exactly what was feeling, though it was undoubtedly smug. Then he spoke, but not in William or even Jean's voice. It was dark and grainy, like speaking static, but she could still recognize it regardless. It was the voice of her father – Franz Hopper.

"_You have your mother's eyes," _he said gently, "_and your father's brilliant mind._" Aelita let out a small gasp as the tears started to flow from her eyes.

"How..._dare_ you...!" she growled.

"_...but the foolishness of a **human**," _he added, "_you should have stayed in Lyoko with **me. **It didn't need to come to this, I'm sure I would've found a use for you eventually – you are so talented, after all."_

"Shut up!" scowled Aelita, "SHUT UP AND DIE!" She tried harder to push the energy ball through but gained no ground, and X.A.N.A showed not even the slightest signs of tiring.

"_I was such a fool,"_ he continued, "_**you** should have been the one I used, not the boy. **You **should have been my apprentice; the hands that I would use to shape the world. Instead I let the prodigy get his hands on you, and bring you to the world himself. Of course you'd be in his debt after that...and to think all that time the only reason I kept you was because I thought you'd be more use to me **inside** Lyoko._"

"What are you talking about?" she asked, finally more curious than enraged.

"_Oh come," _he laughed, "_I know you're smarter than that. Think, child, did **I **need to learn some secret formula to virtualize my own machines into the real world? Or even my essence to manipulate it in small parts? I always knew you were human, far before they did, I could've virtualized you anytime I wanted – as my own personal Spectre, instead I foolishly tried to use you as the key to led me to Hopper. I should have known from the beginning you'd be more use to me than that old fool could ever be..." _

"Shut...UP!!" she shouted, trying again to break through his shield. X.A.N.A sighed,

"_But alas, I suppose it's true what they say: **the apple doesn't very far from the tree!**" _with that X.A.N.A let out a loud roar and suddenly his smoke shield started to infect Aelita's energy attack and turn it into a dark energy field of his own. As it turned she could feel herself losing control over it until she was forced to let go; touching it hurt her. "_**I will not die!" **_shouted X.A.N.A, holding the energy ball menacingly, "_Your world built me in it's own image, and I intend to return the favor. I am the end of your time, and the beginning of my own!I..AM...**PRIMEVAL!"**_

"Blah, blah, blah! Let's dance, monkey boy!"

While X.A.N.A (or **Primeval**, as he called himself) had been talking, Odd sneaked around behind him without any trouble. Of course the word 'primeval' had nothing to do with monkeys, but Odd had finally gotten his line and nothing was going to spoil his mood. He kicked X.A.N.A in the back as hard as he could, he didn't flinch much but lost focus and let the energy sphere dissipate. Before Odd could continue his attack, X.A.N.A waved his arms and blew knocked Odd away with a quick rush of shadow, he then turned and tried to catch Aelita with a giant hand of black mist but she'd already flown away. When he looked back down he saw another of William's streak attacks nearly upon, quickly he reached out to it and in no more than a second turned it to dark energy and sent it straight back towards him. Shocked, William quickly leaped out of it's path, but it turned to match; it was following him! Using his new strength William leaped backwards in huge jumps as he tried to escape the attack but every time he landed it was still right in front of him...and catching up! He stopped for a minute until it was nearly in his face then he jumped straight to the side, hoping to throw it off, but amazingly it was able turn turn on a right angle and continued to pursue to through the hundreds of cars parked in the lot. Will kept jumping back from hood to hood of each car, and the streak continued to follow him turn for turn, cutting through each vehicle and exploding them, leaving a massive wake of burning destruction as it hunted him relentlessly.

X.A.N.A was laughing at Will's predicament until he spotted a sword spinning towards himself head out of the corner of his 'eyes', with another small gesture he caught it in a thin wall of his smoke and sent it spinning back at Ulrich, who'd just escaped from the car along with Yumi. Ulrich caught his sword as Yumi threw her fans, both were easily deflected straight back to her.

"Damn it, we're getting nowhere like this!" shouted Ulrich, greatly frustrated, "Jeremy, any ideas?"

Jeremy groaned as he continued to brings of up screens, scanning X.A.N.A intensely, "I've given you guys all the power I reasonably muster. You _should _be able to hurt him if you can just get past his shield, like Odd did!"

"Great, how are we supposed to do that a second time? He's ready for us!" sighed Yumi. Meanwhile William was running back to the fight, the energy streak still chasing him. He headed straight for X.A.N.A and jumped at he last moment, fortunately the streak didn't follow him into the air and tried to continue through it's own master, but X.A.N.A just flipped up another shadow shield and absorbed it. William landed, tired and frustrated, next to the others. There was silence all around. X.A.N.A just stood there, letting his dark essence swirl gently about his feet. Then in the distance Odd heard what sounded like helicopters approaching their position, he looked to see that he was right; several attack choppers were closing in on them. X.A.N.A turned to look at them at let out a deep, frustrated sigh. Aelita smiled.

"This is only the beginning, '_Primeval'_, you think you can take on the entire United States military AND us at the same time?"

X.A.N.A sighed and scratched his chin, "_You have a point, I suppose. As much as I'd like to give you all my full attention, it's important that I let the world's superpowers know as soon as possible how futile challenging me really is if I want to save as many potential test subjects as possible. So I'm afraid you'll just have to be satisfied...with **this.**" _He gently raised his hand a large cloud of smoke 'whooshed' out near his feet and flattened itself against the ground, turning the pavement solid black, just like his skin. Out of the ooze 5 figures slowly rose, it didn't take long for the team to realize X.A.N.A was making copies of them. They didn't look like normal clones; perfect doubles with odd color switches, instead they looked like twisted, nether versions of each of them. And instead of strange alternative colors, they were purely monochromatic; black and white. "_Step forward, warriors," _X.A.N.A called out to the startled team as he conjured his fighters, "_and face your **Faux.**_" One by one each of the Faux came to life and flourish their weapons.

Ulrich's Faux was dressed far more modernly, with a white combat jacket and black jeans, his bandanna was tattered and long – it blew around it the wind. His hair was just a little longer than Ulrich's, but far more unkempt and wild; sticking up rather than hanging down. He stood, arms crossed, staring at Ulrich with cold determination. Faux Aelita was dressed far more scandalously than her counterpart, with large dress openings in the small of her back, along the side of her legs, and just up to her chest exposing her body. She was dressed more like a exotic dancer than a fighter, and she giggled naughtily as she tossed her short, white hair. Aelita felt sick just looking at her. Faux Yumi wasn't much better. She wore a one-piece suit, like the real Yumi, but it was cut apart until it was almost as ridiculous as Aelita's, her legs we almost completely bare and most of her chest was exposed – it looked more like a swimsuit than fighting gear. She had jet black lipstick and deep eyeshadow on her face, and her hang hung messily over her eyes. Yumi was feeling just as sick as Aelita.

Faux Odd was just as insulting; he wasn't even standing up straight! He held his arms up crookedly and hunched over like some kind of spooky manservant in a cheesy old horror movie. His white hair was in a short buzz cut with black streaks, and he laughed constantly like some kind of hyena. He drooled black ooze as he chuckled and his eyes were wide and deranged as he stared emptily ahead.

"Oh, come _on_!" Odd scoffed, "Now you're just trying to be _mean_!"

Will's Faux rose last, but it looked far different from the others. He expected a monochromatic alter of his current costume, or even his young former self, but instead he was met by a heroic looking knight in shining white armor. He looked just like William. He even had normal colored skin instead of being ghostly white like the others. Over his armor he wore a noble looking white cowl, held on at the shoulder by a golden eye of X.A.N.A emblem. Even his hair was styled the same, only blond. Faux William drew his sword, it was as long as Will's but thin like a katana, and it seemed to be made of pure light.

William spat, "You really think these knock-offs are gonna hold us back for long, Primeval?"

"_They'll do their job,"_ shrugged X.A.N.A, "_while I do mine." _with that he summoned up another surge of dark smoke which formed into massive dark wings on his back, feathered like Aelita's. With a strong flap he took off into the sky and headed to intercept the attack copters, leaving a dark and misty trail of smoke in his wake. They couldn't follow. They were still face to face with their doubles, who didn't move and only stared back at them sinisterly.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Odd.

"We should stay together," ordered Aelita, "and don't fight your own double, X.A.N.A probably planned for that. Just pick any other one and attack as hard as you..." before she could finish speaking a Faux Ulrich triplicate appeared behind Yumi and was about to slice her through when Ulrich blocked it with his sword, the Faux that was still standing with the others merged with it and sped off. Ulrich, angered, gave chase. "No, Ulrich, that's what it wants!" Aelita shouted, but they had already sprinted out of earshot towards the city. William didn't wait to be attacked, he was already so insulted by the Faux William's form that he chased after _him,_ his Faux just smiled and giggled as it leaped away in huge bounds, Will following close behind. Yumi threw a fan at her Faux, which it caught and then ran off with, laughing like a tart.

"Hey!" she shouted, "Give that back, you tramp!" and she quickly ran after her. Aelita groaned with frustration; her plan was falling apart and the Faux were working to perfection! Her own Faux didn't smile at her at at all, it growled angrily as it charged a dark energy sphere. Aelita quickly opened her wings and took off into the sky, the Faux cast the attack after her but it missed, it then opened a pair of dark bat-like wings and followed after her, roaring. This left Odd to face his own Faux alone, but he didn't even really care.

"Great," he sighed, "they go off to do awesome battle with their own personal arch nemeses, and I'm left to play with the pooch..."

Next thing he knew the Faux was right up in his face, breathing on his nose and giggling like a lunatic. Odd jumped back in shock, but not far enough. The Faux jumped and did a quick flip before drop kicking him in ribs, sending Odd flying back and sliding across the hard gravel until he hit a car. Just as he managed to get up Faux Odd was upon him again! It grabbed him by his throat, lifted him up with ease, jumped and slammed him down onto the roof of the car. Odd was left, stuck in his own crater in the metal. He tried in vain to pull out his arms or legs as the Faux sat on his chest laughing insanely and drooling black ooze on his face. "Either give me a hand or get off!" Odd shouted, and of course the Faux leaped off his stomach and landed in front of the car. Odd could just barely lift his head to see what it was doing. Still laughing, it lifted up the front of the car and stood it up on its rear bumper, putting Odd completely upside down. He had no idea what was going on until he looked 'forward' and saw that the Faux was turning the car to face towards a tall light pole. "Oh no," said Odd, "Oh no, don't you DARE. Don't you even _think_ about...!" With more laughter the Faux sent the car grinding along the pavement with one strong punch, sending Odd screaming straight into the pole. When it hit the car folded around it like a sandwich, with Odd stuck in the middle. A moment later the car fell off, leaving Odd, bruised and clutching the pole upside down. Groggily he let go.

"_You are so dead._" he said dizzily as he staggered back towards the Faux, who just laughed as it prepared for their next tussle. Meanwhile Jeremy was going out of his mind back in the computer room. X.A.N.A was more powerful than ever and about to decimate the eastern United States, and all of his friends were separated and facing off against their deadliest doubles yet. He needed to give them an edge...no, they could handle themselves. What he needed was someone to go after X.A.N.A, save the military, and he knew just who to call. Quickly he dialed her cell on the computer, and like any 'in' girl, she answered in seconds.

"Hey, Will," chirped Sissi, "still 'saving the world' with your nerd friends?"

"Sissi," said Jeremy, not mincing words, "William's in trouble. _Everyone_ is in trouble!" Sissi was on her bed, clipping her nails while watching TV. She held the phone in the crook of her neck.

"Yeah, I know. What do you want _me_ to do about it, genius?" she scoffed.

"You _know? _What do you mean you _know?_" asked Jeremy, shocked. Sissi rolled her eyes,

"You'd think with all the time you spend on a computer you'd look up Yahoo! News once in a while." Jeremy quickly brought up all the news channels on his screen. There it was: the Pentagon in flames with 'strange visitors' doing battle near the wreckage, everywhere it _could_ be news it WAS news. Even France was communicating the event live via correspondents. "So what, you want to me come over and give another Will another 'pep talk'?"

"No, I want you to suit up, reload, and kick some ass."

Sissi grinned as she snapped off another potential hangnail, "Hell yeah."

* * *

_Thank you for reading Code: Crisis - episode 12 "Extradition – Part Three"_

**Next episode: "Extradition – part Four"**


	13. Extradition Part Four

C o d e - C r I s I s

Episode 13

**EXTRADITION – PART FOUR**

_Demons_

* * *

Sissi was in the operations room with Jeremy, watching the battle unfold between the team and their Faux; monochromatic clones made by Primeval (X.A.N.A's self designation of his human form) to keep them busy while he went off to destroy the military retaliation of the United States. Attack choppers were firing off countless rounds of ammunition at the soaring devil that continued to cut them down with blades of shadow and smoke like they were child's toys. It wasn't long before jeeps of troops sped in to assault him from the ground with volleys of R.P.G fire. When X.A.N.A grew bored of dodging them he'd simply detonate them before they even left their launchers, exploding them right on the shoulders of the unfortunate men that wielded them. Sissi watched the slaughter with a grim expression.

"I hate you, Jeremy."

"_What?_" gasped Jeremy, "What did I do?"

"Don't play innocent!" she snapped, though in truth Jeremy really did have no idea what she was talking about. "The only reason you're wasting time showing me this instead sending me straight to the scanners is because you didn't think I'd help you otherwise, right?" Jeremy only stuttered, perhaps she was right – though he was a ashamed to admit it. "I'm not a bad person!" she shouted, storming towards the elevator.

"Sissi, please wait! Don't leave!" Jeremy called after her.

"I'm not, Jackass!" she shouted, "You're going to send me to the scanners! Jeez, you guys just won't cut me a break!" Jeremy blushed, sick with embarrassment. Sissi entered the lift and Jeremy promptly dropped her to the scanner room.

"I'm going to put you far enough away to take him by surprise, but it shouldn't be hard to find him. I know you haven't a lot of battle training, so just play it safe – keep him off of the military and watch yourself; he's more powerful than you can imagine. If he devirtualizes you I can still bring you back...eventually, but keep him away from the populace."

"What about Will and the others?"

"They'll have to fight their own demons for now."

-

Odd was having a very tough time against his Faux. It seemed like every single time he lifted his head to see what was going on he ended up with either a foot or fist up his nose. Faux Odd was ridiculously fast, Odd turned as quickly as he could but would only catch a white blur zipping to the left only to feel the hit come from the right.

"Okay, that's enough of this." he groaned, and fired off a full swarm of guided arrows straight into the air. They spiraled around each other for a bit before turning and heading straight back down towards himself! Confused he looked around frantically before realizing that the Faux was standing right behind him; they were back to back. He quickly spun around to swipe at him but the Faux kept jumping around in a tight circle so that the arrows would keep closing in on them both. Finally Odd had no choice but to bring up his energy shield and leap away, the arrows hit the ground right between them, the Faux jumped far off to safety while Odd was blown back into a vehicle. Again he had only a moment to roll out the way as a slew of crooked looking shuriken stuck into the car door where his head had just been. Odd had only a moment to view their distorted form before they started to glow; they were explosive! He leaped away just as the car went up in smoke and flames. Odd knew he wasn't making any headway in the open parking lot, so he started running towards the city, hoping to lose his Faux in the buildings and take it by surprise later. Faux Odd happily followed.

As planned, it lost sight of him when they made their way into town. Instead it was greeted by a hail of laser arrows from above. It rolled away and cast its crooked arrows in counter-attack. Odd was atop a streetlight. He flipped backwards out of their path and landed in the street. He ran away while shooting at the Faux, who followed nimbly on all fours, ducking and weaving between Odd's attacks, giggling all the way.

-

William was chasing his Faux through the streets like a man possessed. The Faux was gliding gracefully from surface to surface, smiling as it would jump away just as William would arrive to strike. After another miss left William cleaving through a streetlight his target leaped into the air. William followed and reared back a powerful swing, but with only minor effort the Faux blocked it and knocked him away. William landed back on the street as the Faux continued upwards onto the roof of a small restaurant.

"Hmm," the Faux sighed, "I thought you'd be stronger than this." William raised an eyebrow,

"So, you _can _talk..." gasped Will between breaths. "How about giving up, then?"

The Faux laughed, "Would _you?_" It then charged it's sword with a golden aura and blasted it at William. Will jumped up as the attack exploded under his feet. Using the force he flew up at the Faux with great speed, charging an attack of his own. When he reached the right height he fired it, sending a streak of blue energy straight towards the Faux. Smiling, it lifted its sword and lightly batted the beam into nothingness. William was flabbergasted, and in his shock the Faux reached out and grabbed him by the the neck when he approached. Will didn't want to drop his sword, so he had only one hand to fight the Faux's increasingly tight grip at his throat as he hung in the air.

"And to think," it sighed as it choked him, "all this could hav been avoided if you'd just stayed in bed!" It briefly hoisted him up before throwing his down the side of the building in a parked car. William pried himself out of the metal and dusted himself off.

"If you're trying to go the whole 'make me blame myself' route, _I_ already beat you to it. Now let's stop messing around and _end_ this."

"With pleasure."

With a roar the Faux leaped down at him, ready to strike. William jumped up to meet him and their swords clashed, releasing a bright wavy aura of gold and blue energies. William was dazzled by it, the Faux seemed unaffected and shoved him back to the ground. Before it could land on top of him William jumped away as the Faux came down with a slash, and managed to charge and throw an energy streak in retaliation. The Faux rolled out of the way just in time and started charging it's hand with a golden aura, which it then fired at a nearby car. Instead of the vehicle exploding, the Faux was able to use the aura to move the car around—like William's Influence ability, only far more powerful. With a loud grunt it threw the car at William, who jumped back and sent a sword streak at it, slicing it in two. Frustrated, it jumped back up onto the rooftops and started to run away. William quickly pursued. They continued atop the roofs until William managed to catch up, jump on top of the Faux and bring the both of them crashing down through a glass skylight. When they hit the floor the Faux knocked William away and rolled back onto its feet. Will got a good look around and saw that they'd landed inside of a church, the painted glass imagery brought back images of Renaissance like war flashbacks. He stumbled around, holding his head and trying to shake the pictures out of his mind. The Faux laughed and stepped back into the shadows to watch.

"_What's the matter, brother?"_ it whispered from the dark corners. "_ All the 'what ifs?' catching up with you?_"

"What are you talking about?" he strained to say through the pressure in his head. He looked around for the Faux but everything looked blurry, the painted glass images on the windows had been typical; saints, the Christ, the cross. But now everything was changing: the saints became the other Faux, the Christ became the golden William Faux, and the cross became the eye of X.A.N.A.

"_What is it with you humans and feigning ignorance? Surely you realize you could have __**been **__me if you hadn't been so easily deluded by the other interlopers."_

"Wait..." said William, his head slowly clearing. "You're not like the others, are you? It's **you** – you're the one I met in my head when X.A.N.A escaped my mind. You're _Desire_."

"_Well deduced, but I'm much more than that now. With Lord Primeval's new form it was possible for me to be given a full range of emotion. Before I simply fought because it was my purpose, now...at __**last**_..._**I can enjoy it!**_" With that the Faux Desire leaped from the shadows and aimed his blade straight for William's heart, smiling wickedly from ear to ear. William quickly turned and blocked it with such power it left Desire suspended in the air. As it floated, William looked on with a disappointed gaze.

"I pity you," he said mournfully, "you just don't get it at all." Desire just chuckled and flipped back to the ground, it reared back its sword and charging it with energy, running down the aisle straight for William with a sinister grin. "It takes more than just emotions to be human," William continued, "it takes _spirit_. You said you can feel everything now? Let's see how much you can take! **Super Smoke!**" William didn't sink into the ground but instead charged himself up with a brilliant white and blue aura of energy, it looked like smoke as it whorled around him like a tornado. Holding his sword low, he charged at Desire with a look of silent determination. Just as they met, Desire swung at him with a laugh, but at just that moment William vanished into the ground and reappeared behind him. He swung at the Faux and it turned to counter-strike before he could connect, but instead of behind cut through he disappeared again and Desire was left with nothing, not even a smoke trail to follow. It seemed like it was completely alone in the church, and as it waited for William's next move a new sensation started working it's way up the back of it's neck: anxiety. Suddenly William appeared again from above and dropped down to attack. Desire sent a quick streak at him but William slipped away again, this time appearing right behind Desire while it was still looking up. He swung, but just as his blade was about to cut through it's neck, he smiled and vanished again, leaving Desire in a panic.

It fumbled around, nervously holding up it's sword and scanning the room with wide, frightened eyes and short, spastic breaths.

"What...what are you doing?!" it gasped. "You think this is a _game?!_" There was no reply, only the creaking of it's own footsteps on the wooden floor could be heard. Then in an instant William reappeared at the end of the aisle as a trail of smoke, ripping his way through the floorboards towards Desire like some kind of monster. Screaming, it brought it's sword down upon the enemy with a big explosion of wooden splinters and light, only to feel a quickly jab of something blunt from behind. It turned to catch but a glimpse of William's elbow before he blew away again. William repeated this process, faster and faster, hitting the Faux from angle after angle, faking attacks and tapping it like he was playing a prank. Each time Desire responded more and more hysterically, until it was demolishing the church with one wild energy streak after another. Finally it couldn't take anymore and dropped to it's knees. It let go of its sword and huddled into a fetal position of the floor, crying. "_What is this?_" The Faux sobbed wildly, "_Why won't it __**stop?**_" William reappeared one final time and slowly walked up to it.

"It's called 'fear'. Just another part of being human...right, _brother?_"

Desire couldn't stop sobbing, until eventually it just stared of into space. It's tears turned black, and slowly it started to melt away into a pool of ink. Gone. William sighed and then readied his sword; it was time to help the others.

-

Ulrich had followed his Faux into an abandoned warehouse and lost sight of it. He quickly triplicated himself, knowing that the Faux would probably do the same. It was dark and he couldn't see much around him, just the shapes of crates and pipes, and the faint glistening of chains hanging from the ceiling. He jumped at every sound—any scratching noise could be his Faux sneaking up on him. Then from behind a stack of wooden boxes, Ulrich heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed and quickly attacked with one of his doubles. It jumped up and sliced through the boxes but there was nothing behind them. From behind they heard the sound of fast running. Ulrich threw his sword and just caught a glimpse of something as his sword hit the wall where the something had just been . His double handed Ulrich on of it's own swords while it went to retrieve the one he had thrown. Ulrich turned around slowly. His two doubles at work, he stared up and around the warehouse, looking for a clue.

"_Where are you...?_" he whispered to no one, but a grisly mirror of his voice answered from behind.

"_**Here.**_"

Without looking Ulrich spun around with his sword but hit nothing but air. It took only a moment for him the see his Faux had just ducked down under him, but that's all it needed for it to counter-attack. It slapped Ulrich in the face with the flat of it's blade then kneed him in the ribs, Ulrich backed away awkwardly, holding his sword in front to defend himself as the Faux slowly marched towards him with a cold, empty stare. Ulrich decided this wasn't a good place to fight it, and summoned his doubles back into his body, then sprinted outside. The Faux followed, still split in three. Outside it was brighter, Ulrich was speeding down the street when he saw Odd off in the distance fighting his own Faux. He figured together they'd stand a much better chance together and rushed to catch up with him, but his Faux had different plans. It sent out its doubles ahead of Ulrich where one promptly sliced through the side of a fire hydrant, causing a thick stream of high pressure water to blast across the street directly in Ulrich's path. This wouldn't have been much of an obstacle by itself, but then the Faux-double stuck it's sword into the stream, and suddenly the spraying water froze into a high wall of ice, cutting Ulrich off from Odd.

"Odd," he shouted over the wall, "can you hear me? It's Ulrich!" Odd could see the faint image of Ulrich behind the ice wall being closed in on by his Faux's double. Though it was a bit out of character, Odd devised a plan.

"Follow my lead!" he shouted back to Ulrich before turning to face his counterpart. Ulrich rolled his eyes; he couldn't even _see _Odd, after all, but he trusted him. Odd jumped up and dug his claws into the ice wall, waiting for his Faux to strike. It fired another slew of shuriken that Odd dodged at the last moment, leaving them stuck in the ice wall. Quickly he fell down and started to charge the Faux. When it fired again he dropped into a knee slide and went under the attack, right between its legs. Before it could react Odd swung his legs about and stood, knocking it off it's feet in the process. Before it could hit the ground he grabbed it by its legs and took it for a spin, literally. When he gained enough momentum he threw the Faux at the ice wall, impaling it on it's own throwing stars – but it wasn't dead yet. "Ulrich, now!" he shouted.

Ulrich saw Odd's Faux stuck on the ice wall and knew he had to act quickly. The street was almost completely flooded with water and Ulrich's Faux froze it with each step until they were standing on ice rink. Ulrich had a hard time keeping his balance, while the Faux seemed to have no problem walking or running on the slippery terrain. It called back its doubles, certain it could finish the floundering Ulrich by itself, and ran in for the kill. Ulrich jammed his sword into the ice to give him something to hold on to, then he got an idea. He let himself fall onto his back and pulled on his sword until he was spinning around it in a circle. At the right moment he ripped the sword out and went sliding towards his Faux, he threw his other sword behind it, diverting it's attention for a moment and then sliced behind it's legs when he passed. It fell to it's knees in pain while Ulrich kept sliding until he was able to grab his other sword, root himself, and stand up. Using his swords as ski poles, he made his way quickly back towards the Faux just as it got up and turned for him. With a shout he rammed both his swords through it's chest, and threw the whole package against the ice wall, sticking his Faux right on the ice, opposite of Odd's.

"It's done!" he shouted, "Do it now, Odd!"

Odd fired two of his guided arrows into his own Faux's chest, and then clawed his way up and over the wall to Ulrich, he fired his last two shots into Ulrich's Faux, and the two friends ran for distance.

"See ya!" Odd laughed. With a loud explosion and ice shards everywhere the two Faux's were destroyed, and Odd and Ulrich were off to meet up with the others.

-

Aelita was soaring high over town, struggling to dodge her Faux's attacks. Not only did it have energy fields like she did, but it could also shoot bolts of dark lightning, which were much harder to avoid. She would try to fire back at it, but it would swiftly dodge all of her attacks, which only seemed to make it more angry. Growing tired of the chase, the Faux rammed Aelita and grappled her by the neck, and together they started to fall towards the city. As they spiraled down, Aelita managed to pull her head out of it's hold but it still had her by the hand and kept pulling her down. She punched it in the face repeatedly but it still wouldn't loosen its grip on her, then it kicked her in the stomach and while she was stunned it managed to get her by the neck again. As they turned Aelita could see they were falling towards the roof of a large building. Quickly she charged an energy field and connected it with the roof just as they collided, allowing them both to crash through with minimal trauma. Before they hit the ground, however, Aelita managed to grab the Faux and spin them both until it was on the bottom, breaking her fall. Still, the fall was hard and disorienting. Aelita slowly pulled herself off of the Faux only to discover it was still alive.

She jumped back and was about to fly away when it flew at her and tackled her around the waist, carrying her towards the end of the room. Looking about Aelita could see that what they'd fallen into was a school gymnasium, and the wall the Faux was about to collide her with was solid brick. She charged another energy field to blast through the wall as she had the roof, but the Faux grabbed her wrist at the last second and it cast harmlessly into the bleachers. With a loud, crumbling crash they went through the wall, down the hallways and deeper into the school – it was a good thing no one was in. Not eager to be put through another wall, Aelita grabbed the Faux by the hair and pulled hard. It cried in pain before throwing Aelita down and landing, putting away its wings. Aelita did the same, got up, and charged a large energy field to take it out while it was shaken. She fired it and it seemed like it would be a direct hit, but just before it made it the Faux turned around and screamed, sending out a shock wave that destroyed the field in mid flight. Even after her attack had been destroyed the Faux didn't stop screaming, it wasn't until her head started to split and the walls and windows started to crack that Aelita realized this wasn't a scream, it was a Shriek. Desperately she tried to conjure another energy field to retaliate, but anything she could muster just blew out of her hands; she couldn't concentrate, all she could do was cover her ears and retreat back to the gym, windows shattering on her as she ran.

Her hope was that if she could get back to the gym she could fly out the hole in the roof and get far enough away for the Shriek to have minimum effect. But the Faux's call was incredibly potent and by the time Aelita had reached the middle of the gym she'd been reduced to crawling, and couldn't find the strength to summon her wings. The Faux was still right behind, just walking, still shrieking at the top of it's lungs – after all, it didn't need to stop and take a breath. Aelita felt strange, she looked down at her hands to see that they were shaking violently, not physically, _visually_; she was on the verge of devirtualizing! She shut her eyes tightly and tried desperately to think of a way out; she had one card left to play. Even over it's own voice, the Faux could heard the rising sound of a single note being sung, louder and louder as Aelita began to glow bright pink and rise gently into the air. Soon the entire room seemed to be filled with a melody of sharp, but beautiful musical notes as Aelita continued to use her Creativity to drown out the Faux's Cacophony. Soon the entire room started to shake and pieces started to fall from the ceiling now that the hole had weakened the roof's structural integrity. Aelita's eyes were shut tight as she gently guided every falling piece away from her body, while the Faux angrily increased it's volume, about to bring the entire gym down on top of them. Neither of them noticed a long, thin piece of metal bar break off from the roof and fall towards them. Aelita gasped when she sensed it, causing the Faux to look up in curiosity. No sooner than it did the metal pole ran straight down it's throat and through it's entire body, killing it. Aelita didn't watch as the Faux melted away, she quickly flew off to find the other Warriors.

-

Yumi was getting ticked off chasing her sleazy Faux through an empty shopping mall. Every time she caught up with it, it was either putting on make-up, pretending to try on clothes, or just staring at itself in the mirror. She's tossed her fan at it (it still had her other one), but it would just dodge, titter, and leap away to it's next hiding spot. At the moment she was walking an empty path through the mall, keeping her eyes open for anything suspicious. Tired, she stopped at a fountain. _Why would X.A.N.A make a copy of me like that, _she wondered, _probably just to mess with my head. I'm not like that at all...am I? _She looked over into a clothing store and spotted her reflection in the mirrors right by the entrance, after just a few moments she was shocked to discovered she'd actually started posing. She quickly stopped and turned her attention back to searching. _I mean, I like to look good...but I'm not __**obsessed **__with it. I'm not __**Sissi**__, for God's sake. _She heard the sound of the Faux's airhead giggling nearby, she quickly spread her fan and dashed in the direction of the sound.

She found herself at the center of the mall, a sunken area filled with abandoned toys, benches, and another, larger fountain as the centerpiece. Yumi looked around until she saw that her fan was resting on the edge of the fountain. It was obviously a trap, but whatever the Faux had planned she would rather be fully armed when it attacked. Slowly she walked up and grabbed it and waited anxiously for something to happen. Nearly an entire minute went by without so much as a giggle from the Faux. Casually, but still alert, she started to stroll around the fountain and eventually sat down. She sighed and stared at her reflection, only to see that it was staring right back with empty white eyes. Before she could even think the Faux burst out of the water, grabbed her by the throat and pulled her under the water. The fountain was deeper than it looked, enough for both of them to be almost completely submerged while the Faux strangled the air out of her. Everything was blurry, Yumi could just make out the face of the Faux grinning at her, and hear it's distorted giggling as it finished her off. That is, until Yumi realized she wasn't exhaling out any bubbles...because she wasn't breathing...she was a _Spectre._

**Duh!**

The Faux's expression quickly soured as Yumi's brightened up. She gave the Faux a strong butt to the head and while it was stunned chucked it off herself and out of the fountain. It crashed down on a bench as Yumi slowly stood up, water dripping down her face and body. The Faux pulled itself out of the broken bench and hissed, then materialized it's weapons; two round bladed rings, about the width of basketballs. It threw them out to the side and they went spinning about the center, cutting through scenery and banners and leaving deep gashes in whatever surface they hit. As they flew the Faux let out a Shriek that shattered the all the nearby display windows and even a few skylights overhead. Countless pieces of glass flew all about them but Yumi didn't flinch. When the blades came around to slice off her head she just raised her fingers to her forehead and concentrated.

"_Telekinesis."_

The blades stop just short of her neck, and before the Faux could even finish gasping in shock it's head was rolling on the floor before melting into black goo. Extremely satisfied, Yumi ran towards the exit to meet up with the others.

-

While this had been happening, X.A.N.A was slowly walking through a slew of destruction – admiring his handiwork. Helicopters and jeeps lay downed in the streets, as soldiers were running for their lives from the terrifying demon. He didn't give chase, after all his goal wasn't to kill as many people as possible; only the resistance. Soon those who fled would learn the futility of fighting him as he would continue to rack up his body-count with the carcasses of any who challenged his right to rule. He thought about taking a small break, perhaps checking to see how the Warriors were doing against his Faux soldiers. Then from behind he heard the sound of a pin being pulled from a grenade. Sighing, he turned a see a heavily beaten soldier lying in a pile of rubble just a few feet away from him, one of his legs was missing – blown away in the battle just before – and he was certainly no more than a few moments away from dying. With a sharp exhale he cast the grenade down the pile of debris and it rolled towards X.A.N.A, stopping just at his feet. Calmly X.A.N.A cast down a cradle of smoke and picked it up, his darkness infested it and stopped it from detonating. He studied it closely, but wasn't interested in the device so much as the drama.

"_If you had asked me for forgiveness," _he called to the dying soldier, _"I would have considered sparing your life – in spite of your sins against me. Instead you wasted the very last of yourself on revenge, how typical." _With that X.A.N.A cast the grenade back at him, the soldier could only watch in despair as it landed right next to his head. "_One day," _X.A.N.A continued, "_I will fully understand what makes you humans what you are, and pointless tragedies like this will be avoided._" With a forlorn sigh X.A.N.A turned away from the now sobbing soldier.

To meet a gun right in his face.

It fired, going right through X.A.N.A's forehead and out the back in a spatter of black and red, he gripped his head and threw himself around in agony, shrieking like an animal while Sissi calmly blew the smoke from the barrel of her pistol.

"Yeah..." she said with fake sadness, "but then _that _happened." Quickly she ran over the the soldier and and knelt. She activated her Super Shadow and a dark silhouette of herself appeared, grabbed the grenade, and sped off to a safe distance before it finally went off. It hurt her a bit, but they were both still alive. She put her hand behind the soldier's head and tried to lift him up, but he started to spit up blood. Not knowing what to do, she quickly rested him back down. "Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked, knowing he wouldn't last much longer. The soldier looked up at her weakly and gestured with his eyes towards X.A.N.A.

_"Kill...that...bastard..." _and he passed away. Sissi stood up slowly,

_**"Sir, yes sir." **_

X.A.N.A's skin was crawling over itself to heal the wound in his head. Enraged, he turned to Sissi and snarled fiercely._"__**WHO...?!"**_

"I'm new," she sneered, "long story short: I'm here to kill you too." and she opened fire.

X.A.N.A tossed up a smoke shield but Sissi's bullets were surprisingly potent and busted through, tearing past his skin. He quickly summoned his wings again and took off for the city, Sissi could only follow on foot and fire at him as she chased. Over the town, X.A.N.A smiled smugly at the warrior's futile attempts at attack as she was merely a speck on the ground, he was completely shocked when Aelita suddenly dropped from above, wrung him around the neck and started driving him towards the ground.

_**"Schaeffer!"**_he hissed, "_**when did you...?**_"

"Come on, X.A.N.A. Did you really think your pawns could stop us? All any of your monsters have even been able to do is slow us down...and now you're just like _them: A __**monster!**_" With a loud yell she threw X.A.N.A down and he crashed through the street and into the sewer beneath. Aelita floated over the crater and watched as he climbed out, his eyes burning red with rage. He was about to throw up a claw of shadow to strike her down when he was tackled hard from behind, carried over the crater and slammed into a car. He looked over his shoulder to see that William was the culprit. Before he could counter, Will jumped away and slashed a Sword Streak at him, exploding the car. X.A.N.A walked out of the flames, angry but only slightly wounded. He cast a storm of shadowy missiles at William, who didn't move or show any signs of fear. Just before they could hit him they were shot apart by Odd's arrows, who was spinning acrobatically overhead. He would've targeted Odd next if two fans hadn't sliced his backside before returning to Yumi, and just as he was about to fire at _her_ Ulrich appeared in triplicate as a human shield. Even Sissi had caught up with them and taken her place next to William; X.A.N.A was completely surrounded by the entire Lyoko squadron.

"Well, well, well..." sighed Odd happily, "the gang's all here."

"_**Good,**_" growled X.A.N.A, "_I'll finish you all off at __**once!**__" _There was a note of desperation in his voice as he spoke, but it was deliberate. X.A.N.A _did_ have a plan, and if he played his cards right it would go off without a hitch.

"It's over, X.A.N.A," shouted Ulrich. "Everyone attack!"

William cast a Streak at Ulrich who absorbed it with his blades and then shared the energy with his clones as they touched their blades together in musketeer salute. Yumi rested her fans and prepared a a full array of throwing needles that had since been returned to full lethal potency by Jeremy. Aelita charged up what might have been her mightiest energy field to date and aimed it straight for X.A.N.A's head, Sissi charged her pistols while Odd prepared his guided arrows. Everyone took their positions and William charged his blade last.

"For all the suffering you've caused, it's time for you to pay the price!"

All at once they fired their weapons, the projectiles swarmed and spiraled around each other into a brilliant jagged rainbow that zoomed like lightning straight for X.A.N.A., who could barely contain his joy. Just as the lightning struck him he encased himself in a sphere of shadow. The lighting seemed to set it on fire with X.A.N.A burning in the blaze, but after a while it became obvious that he wasn't being hurt at all. In fact, he was _laughing. _With all of the warriors watching in shock X.A.N.A absorbed the rainbow flames into his body and started to shine with a bright white aura, which quickly turned red. Aelita wasn't sure what was going on but she wasn't going to wait for him to finish. Little did she know that it was already over. She fired a small but potent energy field at X.A.N.A, and gasped in fear when it passed right through him and hit the ground under his body. All of the warriors followed suit but their weapons met the same fate; all their attacks passed through. William and Ulrich rushed forward and tried to slice him, but even their swords themselves simply passed through his body as if he wasn't even there.

"What's going on?" shouted William, scared as well as angry, "How come our swords don't even work?"

_**"**__Because they're __**data**__," _X.A.N.A grinned, "_with a code to which I am now__** immune.**__ If you want them to work again you'll have to devirtualize and have the prodigy reprogram your weapons. __**Or,**__ if you'd rather not leave the city..._" before anyone could act he morphed his right hand into a dark spike and plunged it into Ulrich's chest, "_I'll just take the pleasure of devirtualizing you myself!_" with a laugh he cast the limp body aside, fortunately it was just a double. William wasn't so lucky. X.A.N.A opened his hand towards him and let out a spray of dark quills that ripped through William's body. He coughed and sputtered before falling back into the crater.

"William!" cried Sissi and she immediately jumped in after him. Aelita swooped down for an attack run; shooting blast after blast at X.A.N.A – but they had no effect. With a flick of his wrist X.A.N.A cast up a claw of shadow that grabbed Aelita and began slamming her repeatedly into the side of buildings. Yumi tried to stop him by cutting through the claw's arm with her fans, but like all their weapons they just passed through without leaving so much as a scratch. Odd was particularly angered and charged at X.A.N.A, damning the consequences. He attempted a drop kick on the fiend but simply fell through him and landed between his legs. X.A.N.A knelt down over Odd and punched him in the face so hard his head left a pit in the pavement. While he was dazed, X.A.N.A seized him by the throat and released his grip on Aelita - letting her fall. He then tossed Odd at her and the two collided before hitting the ground in a pile. Ulrich re summoned the clone X.A.N.A had slain and triangulated around him, hoping to at the very least keep him busy while the others recuperated. X.A.N.A decided to just enjoy the show. He figured they'd give up soon.

-

Jeremy was sick to his stomach, it seemed like all he could do was watch while X.A.N.A beat his best friends (and Sissi) to a pulp. Using his biological components, X.A.N.A had essentially become 'immune' to all their attacks, and was now throwing them around like toys. He couldn't kill them, though; ultimately they would only be devirtualized after the beating. He was just _torturing _them out of anger and spite. Jeremy knew if he brought them back he could try and modify their programs to allow breaching X.A.N.A's defenses again, but the supercomputer would still have to recharge, and in the hours that would take X.A.N.A could wipe out the entire eastern seaboard of the United States. They knew they could hurt him – he was already weakened from their attacks before. But now that their powers were useless against him he wasn't taking any more damage. Fortunately his drive to dish out more punishment kept his focus from healing himself, but if Jeremy couldn't find a way for them to stop him now they would have to start again from scratch the next time they fought him. Jeremy knew he could design a weapon that would continually shift its frequency, thus preventing X.A.N.A from ever being able to adapt to it. He'd just finished a program to that effect, but it would require bringing the others back anyway in order to implement it. He _needed _another option! But what ever was there?

He could send someone else.

But _who _else was there? Like a search list Jeremy sped through names in his mind. There was Ulrich's suggestion Saburo: his friend from karate, but the fact remained that even though Saburo may have abilities near Ulrich's level there was no time to properly train him, and it wasn't like he'd be going up against monsters to warm up either, this was X.A.N.A himself. Looking at Sissi's card on the screen made him think about Herve and Nicholas, her cronies from Jr. High. But Herve had been expelled and Nicholas had moved...not that either of them would've been much better use on the battlefield anyway. He could hardly believe it, but Jeremy found himself wishing Jean were still with them, even though at the moment 'Jean' (or at least his body) was the problem. Watching his friends fight valiantly against impossible odds, Jeremy was painfully reminded of what they'd said back in Renaissance; how they all believed in him, how even though he never fought alongside them in Lyoko he was still their guide, their leader.

But maybe it was time for him to become more than that.

His fingers were a blur as he began write a new program into the supercomputer. A new _virtualization _program. Jeremy was not a warrior. He wasn't strong, fast, or even particularly nimble. But damn it, he was _smart – _and maybe that's all he needed to be. With a deep breath he pressed 'enter' and a new virtual profile card appeared on screen, it wasn't amazing, but it had everything he needed to get the job done. But just as he was about to get up from his seat something else came to mind; an idea for a fail-safe. It was risky, even riskier than what he was already planning, but if they couldn't stop X.A.N.A today...too much damage would be done for it to matter – the world would never be the same. Jeremy opened windows of various search engines on the Internet and got downloaded _everything_, absolutely _everything_. From porn to postcards, from race cars to recipes, from every single corner of the globe – every _shred_ of information available from the Internet was downloaded into the supercomputer – a final testament to just how powerful it really was. With a press of a button the entire file was loaded into the virtual persona, and Jeremy set up a timed countdown for virtualization, as we as giving full remote access of the supercomputer to the new virtual form. He got up and headed for the lift, taking one last look at everything for he headed down to the scanners.

"_Automatic Transport Protocol Engaged_," said the computer with the voice of their school Nurse, "_Identifying?_"

Jeremy stepped into the scanner, "Jeremy Belpois."

"_Code?_"

He took a deep breath, "Crisis."

"_Virtualization.._."

-

_"I don't want you to feel bad about this," _lied X.A.N.A as he swung Ulrich about by his leg, "s_o when we're done I'll make you all some new Faux. Better this time...good enough to keep you all occupied for the rest of your lives while I go about my business. At least then you'll be able to __**delude**__ yourselves into thinking you're __**accomplishing something.**__"_ And he cast Ulrich into (and through) a brick wall.

"We'll never give up, X.A.N.A!" shouted Aelita as Odd helped her up.

"_Of course you won't," _he laughed, "_and I'm sure eventually you'll have to tell everyone the truth about me. The __**entire world**__ will fruitlessly unite against me and send every scrap of 'power' they have to vanquish me. Tank after tank, missile after missile, they'll exhaust every bit of technology they can until they realize I __**AM **__the pinnacle of all technology on Earth!" _Yumi was trying to use her fans to deflect the tentacles of smoke X.A.N.A was taunting her with until they simply wrapped and strangled her to the ground. Ulrich climbed out of the hole he'd made in the building and rushed to help her when he saw, but found his feet had been encased in smoke and he couldn't move. Mist climbed up his body and into his mouth, and even though he knew he didn't need to breathe he felt like he was choking to death. William was still in the street crater being held by Sissi, the quills that X.A.N.A had impaled him with paralyzing his virtual body. X.A.N.A laughed at their suffering, "_I plan to keep you all around...I **so** look forward to the day when the last pathetic troupe of 'freedom' fighters (who will undoubtedly be led by some of **you**) are finally crushed by my hand – and your era will end."_

_"_Well you had better work fast, X.A.N.A, you don't have much time." wheezed Aelita, X.A.N.A pretended to ignore her before his curiosity got the better of him.

"_What do you think you're talking about, Schaeffer?" _

"Jeremy did more than just give you Jean's body, there was an extra little present we included, just for you."

"_Oh, what? A __**virus?**__ Please, not even the prodigy could produce one that would threaten me."_

Aelita grinned, "But he didn't put it on _you, _he put it on _Jean_." X.A.N.A's eyes widened,

"_Put __**what**__ on him?"_

"You're trapped, X.A.N.A. Trapped in Jean's body forever: you can't get out. Not even your little smoke tricks can help you, if you ever want to hack a computer again you'll have to use a keyboard and mouse like the rest of us." X.A.N.A couldn't believe it. He quickly looked around for an electrical device and decided to use a traffic light, he cast his smoke up to it and while he could move it around like any other solid object, he couldn't 'hack' into it in control it's functions. Aelita was right. "You've done wonders with Jean's body," she continued, "but eventually it'll wear down, just like any other human body. Cybernetics? Your essence is permanently fused into Jean's organic body, even if you get half a robotic brain it'll only keep Jean's **body** alive – not your sentience; eventually all your organic parts will rot away and you'll pass on with them. That's presuming you LAST that long. As strong as you are I'm sure the military might of the entire planet will damage you a _little_, don't you think? And we'll be right there to tell them how. You'll replace limb after limb artificially to carry on but it won't matter, you'll just be stalling for time. Spiteful? Maybe, but the fact remains X.A.N.A. You WILL lose. It's only a matter of time."

X.A.N.A exploded in rage, his shouts echoing into the dark sky.

* * *

_Thank you for reading Code: Crisis - episode 13 "Extradition – Part Four", please leave a **review**.  
_

**Next episode: "Long – Shot"**


	14. Long Shot

C o d e - C r I s I s

**Episode 14**

_LONG – SHOT_

* * *

A bright red light, and searing waves of heat washed over them as X.A.N.A continued his roar of defeat. Aelita had essentially told him that by allowing himself to become a human being he'd lost his ultimate dream of solving the human equation, but perhaps even more enraging was the realization that as an organic he was no longer immortal. It was only a matter of time before his body wore out, whether by old age or damage. They didn't know it as they were backing away from him, but in X.A.N.A's mind he was storming through options and possibilities at a rate that would daunt even the most powerful of computer systems; the human brain was an incredible tool, and he was pushing his to the limit. Then with a sudden flash the heatwave stopped and X.A.N.A stood at rest, breathing slowly and deeply as his ethereal flames seemed to die down. No one was stupid enough to try and approach him; they knew their weapons didn't work and that he was undoubtedly planning something. She was about to ask Jeremy for a suggestion when X.A.N.A finally spoke.

"_So...this is **despair**...is it? Interesting...and this...this is...**hope?**"_

"What is he talking about?" asked Odd nervously,

"He must have a plan," huffed Aelita, "stay on your guard."

"How?" groaned Ulrich, "We can't even touch him!"

Aelita thought for a moment, "Jeremy, what should we do?" she asked. No reply. "Damn it, something must be wrong. I don't see any other options, we have to go back to the factory."

"What?" gasped Odd, "But what about...?"

"We can't hurt him until Jeremy upgrades us, and he's not responding! All we can do it..." she was cut off as a giant shadowy claw pulled her out of Odd's arms and over to X.A.N.A.

"Princess!" he shouted as he ran over, but X.A.N.A swatted him away with a wall of darkness. The other warriors were angry, but helpless. Aelita stared into X.A.N.A's eyes with a righteous fury.

"You want to finish us off? Fine. Get it over with...I don't want to be late for dinner!"

"_I intend to," _he snarled, "_but first I wanted to share another little revelation I've had with you."_

"Do tell."

"_At first I could only see the detriments to the predicament you and the prodigy have placed me in, and while the solution to it is, yet again, a route I would not have preferred to traverse...I will persevere until my goal is reached. I'll just have to do it the **human** way."_

"What do you mean?" asked Aelita, not liking where this was going.

_"The control I possess over my organic form is paramount. I may not be able to transfer my sentience from network to network like before, but perhaps I was thinking too **small**...perhaps there's another way I can pass on my will."_

Ulrich struggled to his feet, "'Pass on?' What are you getting at?"

X.A.N.A rolled his eyes, "_Again with the feign of ignorance, it really is getting quite **tiresome. **Why don't you enlighten them, Schaeffer?" _Aelita cringed.

"You're going to pass your 'code' on genetically...you're going to have a **son.**"

Everyone gasped as X.A.N.A let out a loud laugh. Odd quickly got up again and desperately tried to make his way back over to them.

"Sorry, X, but she's not your type!"

"Forget it, Odd," sighed Aelita, "I'm not really here, remember? We're Spectres."

"_...But when you're gone I'll have more than enough time to...**get around**, so to speak, and while I'm sure you'll have no more qualms about finishing **me** off...won't you **please** think of the **children?**" _He burst out in wicked laughter, then morphed his free arm into a fiendish looking sword. "_But who knows, Schaeffer? Perhaps when we do meet again – face to face – we can make it a more...**intimate** experience?_" Until now X.A.N.A had no 'mouth' to speak of (or with); his voice just seemed to come from his_ presence_. But as his disembodied cackle continued the black surface that was his face started to tear apart at the mouth , revealing vicious shark teeth and a long snake-like tongue. It stroked Aelita's face, from one cheek, down under the chin, and up to her other ear. It was all she could do do to keep from virtually throwing up. "_How about it Schaeffer?" _he rasped in his most distorted, inhuman tone, "_I could make you a **QUEEN**!" _As his vile tongue continued to caress her face, Aelita's attention was caught by something in the distance. For a moment she looked very stunned, then suddenly very excited.

"Sorry," she smiled, "I'm spoken for."

X.A.N.A turned to see a bright stream of green light speeding towards him. In less than a second the laser beam hit him with an incredible and painful force, blasting him away from Aelita and through the nearby buildings, his smoke dragged along with him. When he was gone they all started to feel much stronger, even William's paralysis wore off as the smoke left his wounds to follow X.A.N.A. Sissi helped him to his feet and together they climbed out of the street crater. All eyes were on Aelita, who stood there smiling broadly in the direction the saving light had come from. All the others looked toward and were amazed at what they saw.

"Jeremy?"

He was far off, crouched on the roof of a building holding an enormous sniper rifle, nearly as long as his own body and carrying a massive bullet chamber that looked like it could fire bricks if it wanted to. Jeremy took his eyes away from the scope and smiled at his friends. They could just barely make him out but he could count the hairs on their heads if he wanted into. No more glasses; his virtual form was equipped with bionic eyes that had magnification power that would put the Hubble to shame. He was also well armored: a black and green cybernetic power-suit with thick gray shoulder, knee, and chest plating.

"Teleport!" he shouted, and in a quick white flash he vanished from his sniper nest and appeared right in front of Aelita and his friends, who could barely contain their excitement.

"No freakin' way!!" shouted Odd,

"Looking good, Einstein!" grinned Ulrich.

"Nice shot." Yumi gave a thumbs up.

"Does that come in blue?" asked William, pointing at his suit.

"It's about damn time if you ask me," snapped Sissi, pretending to be angry, "I was getting tired of carrying these guys' asses around." The festivities stopped with the sound of a primal roar coming from the end of the line of wreckage Jeremy's blast had caused. Everyone's expressions turned solemn as Jeremy started forward to finish the beast once and for all. Aelita grabbed him by the shoulder and was about to speak, but instead just let him go; this was his fight.

A giant tunnel had been made through several buildings by Jeremy's shot, and he passed through them all until he reached the smouldering crater where X.A.N.A lay; his inky skin burning on top of exposed muscle and bone – slowly and crudely healing over.

"_I must say, Belpois," _he rasped as the skin folded back over his reptilian jaw,_ "I've never been more impressed with you than I am now."_

Jeremy raised his rifle and pointed straight for X.A.N.A's head, "Just wait 'till I kill you."

X.A.N.A laughed weakly as his smoke slowly lifted him to his feet, "_Is that how this must end? With **blood?** Violence is not the answer, Belpois..._"

"No," said Jeremy, pulling the trigger, "but it's a r_esponse!_" and with that Jeremy proceeded to blast X.A.N.A through another series of buildings. When he stopped he pulled himself out of the rubble, summoned his shadow wings and took off for the sky. But as soon as he'd cleared the rooftops Jeremy teleported right over him with his gun held over his head and brought it crushing down right on X.A.N.A's skull. The force sent him straight back to the ground, through the street, and into the sewers – just like William had be done. Jeremy couldn't fly, so quickly teleported back down before he started falling. He reappeared in the sewer and quickly shifted his eyes into night-vision to see around the dark tunnels. He held his rifle up and ready as he peeped about quickly to find X.A.N.A, only to have him drop right in his face with a piercing Shriek. Jeremy flipped a switch on his rifle and instead of a beam started shooting rapid pulses of green energy at X.A.N.A while repeatedly teleporting AWAY in the opposite direction. X.A.N.A pursued, using his smoke-like extra arms and legs to dodge in the tight space while still closing the gap between him and Jeremy. Finally he was able to reach out and grab him, and then throw him back up through the street.

Before X.A.N.A could attack again and impale him on a shadowy spike, Jeremy teleported up to a nearby roof and opened fire from there. X.A.N.A tossed up smoke shields but none would stop the genius's onslaught; Jeremy's bullets kept breaking through.

"_**How is this possible?" **_he growled.

"A perpetual modulation program," answered Jeremy. "Imagine an 800-digit password made up of every symbol you could think of. Now imagine that every time you got it wrong it completely changed, and added 100 more digits to the code! You can't break it, X.A.N.A, but I can break **YOU**!" He switched back to the beam mode and fired again, X.A.N.A let out a panicked cry before quickly leaping out of the way. Jeremy trailed him with the beam, leaving a burning trail of melted pavement as he followed his X.A.N.A's movements. While fleeing he threw half a dozen shadow missiles in Jeremy's general direction, who could've ignored them had they not been guided. Teleporting from roof to roof Jeremy let all the missiles get just close enough to miss, while X.A.N.A watched from the street, desperately trying to regain his strength and think up a plan – but Jeremy wouldn't give him the chance. When the last missile was gone Jeremy quickly teleported right back in front of X.A.N.A, who tried summoning a shadow spike from the ground behind Jeremy to take him out. Jeremy disappeared at the last second leaving the spike sticking out of the ground but into nothing, then he reappeared behind X.A.N.A who barely had a moment to turned before Jeremy smacked him with his rifle and sent him flying onto his own spike.

He quickly sent the spike back into the ground and tried to heal his wound, but Jeremy would not give him a moment's reprieve. He zapped in front of X.A.N.A's face again and with a strong swing of his gun sent him flying skywards. The team watched it battle in awe from a distant rooftop; they didn't want to be so close as to offer X.A.N.A any hostages, but they were to enthralled to go back to the factory. Aelita was simply worried.

X.A.N.A was sky high now and as his ascent slowed he looked down at Jeremy, who was carefully aiming his rifle. He pulled back the hammer on his gun and loaded the first of four huge slugs that looked like they could have come out of (or take out) a tank.

Jeremy took careful aim and shouted, "_Armageddon Shell!_" and with a bright explosion he fired the bullet with such force he started a crater formed in the ground around his feet. There was a massive gust of wind that swirled dust and debris about like a tornado as the bullet took off towards its target. Foolishly, X.A.N.A tried summoning all his smoke into barrier between him and the bullet, but it simply blew it away as the shell passed and collided directly with his chest. The explosion was magnificent, like a mid-air atomic detonation (albeit safely smaller) that mushroomed both above and beneath the hit point. They heard a loud pained scream coming from the center, but Jeremy wasn't satisfied. He teleported up and above the explosion, turned and fired his beam again straight into the center. It cut through the burning cloud and hit the still living (but horribly scarred) X.A.N.A, driving him back down until he crashed yet again through the street. Jeremy didn't bother following him this time; he could finish it from here. He pulled the hammer back again, releasing the empty shell of his last shot and loading a new one into the barrel. He zoomed his vision until he was sure X.A.N.A was still in the pit before he fired his ultimate weapon a 2nd time. _"Armageddon Shell!"_

It rushed down with inescapable speed and crashed right onto X.A.N.A's back, exploding with all the same marvel as the first. In the ashes that followed Aelita could just barely see that X.A.N.A had been severed in half by the blast, both halves completely devoid of the inky skin—just disturbing pieces of muscle and bone, the top half was trying to claw its way out of the hole. Jeremy said nothing...and fired again. Watching from far away, Aelita didn't know what to feel, even though it seemed like she should have been overjoyed she just couldn't bring herself to relish the moment. But it didn't seem like the other's were having an easy time with it either. In many ways, X.A.N.A was the the ultimate technological achievement he believed he was. Just like he'd said before; even though he had a human body, he was a form of life all his own. Humans could debate their own origins all they wanted, but X.A.N.A was undeniable evolution; he came from nothingness into a state of action without sentience, and then evolved into an intelligent thinking creature.

It was a shame they had to kill him...but not because of what X.A.N.A was, but because of _Jean_. X.A.N.A _chose_ what he wanted to be, Jean was simply a piece. His sentience came from X.A.N.A's but he felt only empathy and concern for others; he was proof X.A.N.A could've gone a different way if he'd only chosen to do so.

If only...

After the third shot all that was left was a black skeleton with a few pieces of muscle hanging from it like scraps, black ooze still desperately tried to reach it as it continued its futile crawl for the top of the crater. Just as it peaked over the edge Aelita could feel as if it were looking right at her, and to answer her suspicions it reached out at her, despite the distance, and let out a sad animal-like cry. Against all sense, Aelita let a tear escape her eye.

"_Good-bye." _she whispered, to whatever it had left that was worth missing.

Jeremy discovered he was crying too. Not for X.A.N.A, but for everything and everyone else that had been lost just for this one moment to come. He pulled the hammer and loaded the final bullet.

"_Good riddance._" he sneered, the final shot was fired into the hole and in an instant X.A.N.A was blown away, letting out nothing more than whimper as the flames swallowed him down.

After the smoke had cleared they headed the crater to search for remains. The destruction was terrible; everything around them was burning and falling apart as if it really had been doomsday just a moment before. Jeremy reached the pit first. His eyes widened at what he saw inside.

"Shit." he spat, the others quickly rushed to his side. Inside the crater was the black ooze, bubbling up like oil and slowly filling the hole.

"What is that?" gasped Yumi, "Don't tell me it's...?"

"No," said Jeremy sternly, "X.A.N.A is dead. His final sentience was destroyed when I eradicated all his organic matter, this is something else."

"What?" asked Ulrich.

"It's his _code_," realized Aelita, "the same mindless forms we fought on the Internet. Without X.A.N.A they're carrying out the same protocol they did when we killed him the first time."

Jeremy sighed, "Multiply and consume. Only now instead of servers it's doing it in the real world. That pool's just going to keep getting bigger until it covers everything."

"So how do we stop it?" asked Odd, Jeremy shook his head.

"We don't,_** I** _do."

Aelita gasped, "What are you talking about?" Jeremy held up his hand and it started to glow, a white sphere of data appeared in his palm, glowing and spinning gently for all to see.

"What is that?" asked Sissi in awe.

Jeremy closed his fist and absorbed it back into his body, "Our last chance. No matter what happens, _**nobody **_is to come in after me, understand?"

"_What?" _cried Aelita, on the brink of hysteria, "You can't really be considering going in that stuff? What if it infects you and gets into the supercomputer? What if X.A.N.A somehow takes you over and you become his new body? I can't let that happen, Jeremy. I can't lose anyone else to him! I _wont!_" Tears were flooding from her eyes as she held Jeremy tightly, refusing to let him take a single step. He embraced her, then gently pushed her away.

"Aelita, I love you more than anything. But if I'd been strong enough to do the right thing years ago none of this would have ever happened. I would've had to live with the pain of destroying you to finish X.A.N.A., but so many lives could have been saved...it's just what your father would have done...and it's what I'm asking you to do now."

"Jeremy, no...no!"

"...You have to be stronger than I was, Aelita. You have to let _me _go this time. I started this when I found the supercomputer and brought X.A.N.A back to life...now I have to end it." Sad beyond belief but powerless against the truth, Aelita let him go and stepped aside. The others said nothing, merely exchanging nods. Except Odd, who offered a fist-pound, which Jeremy happily accepted.

"Godspeed, super-geek." he choked, quickly turning away dramatically. The crater was almost completely full of ooze now, pieces of paper and trash were blowing in and when they did were dissolved by the corrosive fluid. _I'm not really here, _he thought to himself repeatedly, _I'm just a Spectre; not really here..._

He stepped to the edge of the hole and took one final look at his friends.

"You guys rock."

And he fell in.

After first everything was simply black. He could hear, see, and feel nothing. It seemed like the acid wasn't affecting him, then it started...like a worm working it's way up his spine and into his brain, suddenly his mind was flooded with images and brief snippets of sounds; voices speaking. He saw a young Franz Hopper talking to a group of what looked like high ranking military officers, one of them had a badge with the name 'Aime'. He walked up and shook Hopper's hand. It seemed Project Carthage had just gone underway...a flash later he was watching Franz working in a lab surrounded by small computers, he kept running between them typing furiously on each keyboard before tossing them all off the table in a rage – something had gone wrong. Next he was at the Hermitage, Franz was sitting on a chair anxiously reading a piece of paper. Suddenly he looked very worried, then there was a knock at the door. He threw it into the fireplace just before Antea, Aelita's mother, walked in and kissed him hello. She looked pregnant. From there the flashes became much more rapid and violent, but Jeremy could still comprehend everything that was happening.

He saw an older Hopper in a lab coat downloading files from his (new) lab computers onto what looked like a prototype to a jump drive. When he had everything he headed for the door and took a pack of matches out of his pocket. Jeremy could see that right outside the door was a tank of fuel, Hopper lit the match and cast it into the room, setting everything ablaze. The next one was very brief, it was Hopper sitting in his car with a young Aelita in the backseat looking confused. Franz was sobbing heavily as he watching his wife being violently taken away in a black van. The stayed back in the shadows until they left, then backed away and drove off in the opposite direction. The final memory was of Franz guiding young Aelita into the scanner of a much more clean and new looking factory, they smiled at each other as the it sealed. Then his expression turned much more panicked and rushed as he seemed to call out orders to the supercomputer. At last he stepped inside a scanner and prepared for his own virtualization...then it happened. Jeremy could see the operations room; on the computer screen were cards of Hopper and Aelita, the border around Aelita's glowed and the word 'EDIT' suddenly appeared over her face, while Hopper's card turned red and the eye of X.A.N.A appeared over the entire screen. As the virtualization started, tiny bolts of electricity started striking at Aelita's head until a pink mist started to get pulled from her mind – her memories. Thought Jeremy couldn't hear anything he could see her screaming in pain. Franz was not deaf to her cries and frantically bashed on the inside of the scanner, desperately trying to break out and help her.

He was repeating the same words over and over again until Jeremy could start to read his lips, and alread knowing what Franz Hopper sounded like, it was as if he could hear his voice as well...

_X.A.N.A! X.A.N.A! Abort the program! Abort! X.A.N.A...!_

Aelita looked asleep when she was finally virtualized, while Franz Hopper was painfully ripped apart atom by atom before finally being scattered into the Internet. The story told, everything turned white and Jeremy awoke...

...inside a very nice home.

It was the Hermitage, only now it was brand spanking new. Jeremy was surprised to see he was no longer wearing his virtual suit, but his normal Earth clothes as he sat reclined in a comfortable chair inside a posh living room. From behind him he heard a loud whistling, he turned to see that it was coming from the kitchen, where someone was moving about. Much to his surprise, who else should walk into the room with two piping hot cups of tea than Jean Aime, in a delightedly quaint sweater vest and crown corduroy pants. Jeremy was speechless as Jean place one tea cup on a coaster on the desk by Jeremy's chair before taking a seat across from him on the other side of a brown coffee table. Next to his chair was tray with sugar and cream, which he liberally added to his tea before offering some to Jeremy, who shook his head in shock.

"I guess you like your tea strong, then?" he laughed, in his playful French voice.

"X.A.N.A," asked Jeremy, amazed by where he was but not fooled in the _least_, "what is all this?"

X.A.N.A (playing Jean) frowned; after all the times their group had been oblivious he had hoped this facade would've lasted a bit longer.

"We're in your mind, of course," he answered, in Franz Hopper's voice, "where I'll be staying from now on."

"...Until my program self-destructs like I set it too." snapped Jeremy.

"...Yes, I noticed that bit of code. While you were perusing my memories I was trying to hack you, but of course you more vital psyche is blocked by that infernal perpetual modulation program. So I have to ask...why did you come here, Belpois?"

"To kill you."

X.A.N.A laughed, "Kill me? I was DEAD! The only reason I'm here now is because YOU gave me a human brain to cling some shred of myself into. Unfortunately, as charming as this is, I'm still not sentient; just an highly advanced piece program. But I suppose now is not the time to get picky..."

"I came here, X.A.N.A, because your waste is as tenacious as you were. Until I satisfy your primary directive – the very _reason _you insist on continuing to exist – you won't die."

"Yeah...I'm a real bastard like that," X.A.N.A grinned, "so what exactly is it that you have to offer? I may be in _your_ mind but you're inside _my_ body. If I try to leave your body it will kill me, if _you_ try to leave my program will kill _all _of you...consider it my 'going away present'."

"It's called 'spite'...but to answer your question, what I have to offer you _**is**_..." Jeremy opened his palm before X.A.N.A like a flower, revealing the same glowing sphere he'd shown the others earlier. "_...everything._" X.A.N.A's jaw nearly dropped to the floor – his teacup certainly did – it even looked like he was drooling a bit.

"Is that...?"

"I guess you just didn't have the free time, X.A.N.A, what with us kicking your ass day after day? You couldn't figure out the answer to humanity, but _I_ did, and here it is." X.A.N.A looked skeptical,

"I almost believed you for a minute there. You're just stalling for time, aren't you? While your little friends do..."

"Do what? Like you said, we're both trapped here until one of us gives...and I'm giving! What more could you want?" he smiled. X.A.N.A jumped up from his chair, looking very upset. As his mood changed so did the world around them, storm clouds started brewing outside and the entire house started to shake.

"No..." he groaned, "no...YOU couldn't have...!"

"I couldn't have WHAT, X.A.N.A? Figured out in day what you couldn't do in your entire life? I'll be the first to admit it sounds pretty far-fetched...but you have nothing to lose! It can't be a virus; no virus I could ever make could possibly hamper you. It couldn't hurt to take a look...but that would mean admitting, even just slightly to the possibility that I was smarter than you all along, that **you **were **MY** nuisance!"

"You..._insect!_" he spat through clenched teeth, the room started to shake more and more violently as X.A.N.A struggled to put a lid on his temper; perhaps the human element wasn't all gone after all. "All of your wildest dreams were only made possible through ME! Your love! Your life! Your heroics ALL came from MY power!"

"Oh, please!" sneered Jeremy, "you didn't make the supercomputer, Franz Hopper did! YOU didn't write the X.A.N.A program OR make the time machine! HE did! You're just a ghost in the machine, a glitch in the system, a bug in the code! Triumph? HA! The 'pinnacle of technology'? Don't make me laugh! You were such catastrophic failure you _never even finished the **ONE THING** he **DESIGNED YOU TO DO!**_"

"**SILENCE!!"**

With an earthshaking roar the entire world exploded into into black dust swirling about in red tornado, along with the debris were faint images of Franz's life playing out on pieces of paper that were caught in the storm along with everything else. Jeremy looked down to see that he was back in his combat suit but his weapon was nowhere to be found, and it looked as if acid had been eating away at his suit the entire time. X.A.N.A's shell of Jean Aime and burst away to reveal the floating upper skeleton that had been left in the crater before the final blast. Only half of it's mind rested in it's busted skull, connected to a single, malformed red eye. It was cradled in a red aura, and had but one arm and hand with which to point and threaten Jeremy.

But it was doing a pretty good job.

"_**YOUR PARENTS MADE YOU, BUT DO THEY DECIDE YOUR FATE? YOUR DESTINY?! I WILL MAKE MYSELF INTO WHATVER I CHOOSE, AND ****YOU**** WILL GIVE THE TOOLS TO DO SO!" **_Jeremy tried not to show fear, he simply frowned and shook his head.

"So after all this...that's _all_ you are? Just a spoiled child trying to do it without 'Daddy's' help? I should have known...I bet just like Aelita, who spent all those years in Lyoko until we found her...you may have 'age', but inside you were probably the same as we were...a _kid._" The skeleton glided over to Jeremy and grabbed him by the throat with surprising strength, choking the insolence out of him.

"_**GIVE...ME...WHAT...I...WANT!!"**_

Calmly, Jeremy opened his palm and revealed the glowing program yet again. X.A.N.A's grip loosened, but was not released. It stared at it like it was the holy grail...or maybe just a bottle of warm milk...in either case Jeremy had lost all respect for what he'd thought was a brilliant mind. "_**Yes..." **_he hissed quietly, gently reaching for it, "_**mine..." **_Jeremy stared flatly at his fallen nemesis, then gazed again upon his program.

"You know, X.A.N.A. They say the truth will set you free..."

"_**Free..."**_

"They also say...**the truth HURTS!**"

The data sphere suddenly turned into a long spike in Jeremy's hand, and before X.A.N.A could act Jeremy grabbed him his spine, pulled himself forward and plunged it directly into the vile creature's brain. Immediately it started to Shriek bloody murder and trash about about Jeremy struggled to hold on until the program could finish uploading.

"_**The PAIN...!" **_it cried, "_**THE PAIN!!"**_

"_Deal with it!_" Jeremy shouted as the upload completed, then swiftly kicked the aberration away. It fell down into the bottom of the tornado into a dark singularity where it started to rip apart, just before it reached it's head it reached up mournfully for Jeremy, one last time. Jeremy reached down...and gave him one finger. With one last roar the demon was destroyed and the entire reality started to fall apart, which wouldn't have been so bad if Jeremy hadn't remembered they were _still in his head! _X.A.N.A was self-destructing and trying to take Jeremy's mind with him, and as he started to sink towards the void it seemed like it's plan would succeed. Then from up a above a bright light shone down upon him, breaking through the storm and dispelling the void. Jeremy found himself being pulled gently up to it by melodious singing, it sounded almost like Aelita's voice but deeper...older. Out of the light descended a winged figure, a woman in white robes with long flowing hair. As they drew closer to each other Jeremy could see her hair was pink, but it wasn't Aelita...it was her mother. She reached out and grabbed his hand, looking at it Jeremy saw that her skin was tattooed with glowing golden circuitry, as were her eyes pools of yellow light. It didn't take much deduction for him to realize that this wasn't a real angel, but a virtual form. But surely it couldn't be...

"So many questions..." Jeremy gasped,

Antea whispered, "...So little time."

She smiled at him, then everything was gone.

When Jeremy opened his eyes he was lying in the street, his suit tattered and scarred and rain was gently dropping on his face. He could hear nothing, not even his William calling out that he'd 'found him', or his friends rushing to his side with dirty, smiling faces. Last to his side was Aelita. She looked very happy to see him, but still calm. She gently stroked his face and smiled, saying something that he couldn't hear, but nevertheless he smiled back. He looked up to the sky – dark with storm clouds – and decided he needed to do something about that. Though all else was mute, his own voice could still be heard, even though it was just a whisper.

"_Return to the past, now."_

Everyone gasped. At last he could hear them! They weren't sure why he'd called for a return trip...but he was Jeremy so he must have had a good reason. Sissi wasn't quite sure what was going to happen, William had told her about return trips, but she's never experienced one (neither had he, actually). Back home the supercomputer Nurse happily replied to Jeremy's command, and for the first time they all really saw what a return trip really meant. From the computer a bright line shone from every seam and crevice until it erupted in a shock wave of light, the field spread like wildfire from the factory but that was only the beginning. They team had never really stopped to think about it before but a town in France with memories that were out of time would've been suspicious if 'trips' had only ever been local; the field would have to spread over the entire globe...and that's where Carthage came in. While the first shock wave was still spreading, a beam of light shot straight of from the factory into the sky and out through the atmosphere until it reached a satellite overhead. From there several dozen light streams were shot out in all directions, including right back down to their hometown. Pillars of light struck down all over Europe, from each point exploded another trip-field that engulfed the terrified population; they must've thought it was the end of the world...it made Jeremy chuckle just how many times he'd made the world 'end' with his return trips.

In space the light beams from the first satellite spread to others. Each one shot down it's own spray of lights that hit all over the globe, even far off arctic outposts and fishing ships at sea weren't missed by the expanding waves. Jeremy wished he could see it; the entire would engulfed in light...At at last the beams started to touched down on the Americas and as the fields started enveloping their position from all sides Jeremy took Aelita's hand. Ulrich held Yumi's. William pulled Sissi close and Odd just opened his arms up sadly until William pulled him into the embrace as well.

"So..." asked Jeremy weakly, "got any plans for yesterday?"

Aelita smiled, "I'll check my schedule."

**-24 hours earlier-**

Sissi and Yumi were sitting in the bleachers watching William and Ulrich player soccer against another school's team. While their own players played their parts well, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that William and Ulrich were going to be the deciding factor. They were working together in almost perfect tandem. Storming down the field deftly weaving between and around the other team's players, who seemed to be frozen in time as they made their way the goal. Ulrich took the ball to the side and kicked it with spin. It almost looked like it would go in...enough to fool the goalie into leaping for it, but instead it curved back out towards the waiting William who head butt it in to the now completely unguarded side of the net. The crowd jumped up and cheered as the home team took a commanding 3-1 lead, none cheering louder than Sissi and Yumi.

"Way to go, Ulrich!"

"It's all you, Willie!"

Yumi slowly stopped clapping, staring angrily at Sissi, "What do you mean 'all you, Willie'?"

Sissi scoffed, "William scored the goal." Yumi's jaw dropped in disbeleif.

"Are you kidding me? He was just in the right place at the right time. Ulrich's the one who took it all the way down the field!"

"...While William singlehandedly kept the entirety of their defense off his back! He wouldn't have made it halfway if William hadn't..."

"Stop deluding yourself...!"

"DELUDING myself?! Your the moron who thinks Ulrich..."

"MORON?!"

It wasn't long before the two girls were tearing into each other right in the stands, leaving other fans desperately trying to get out of their way. Down below William and Ulrich watched, intensely embarrassed.

"You know those girls?" asked William innocently, Ulrich shrugged.

"Never seen 'em before in my LIFE."

After the game Ulrich managed to pry Yumi away from Sissi and calm her down, then the two of them decided to go out for some victory pizza. William wanted to come too but Sissi refused and went to the bathroom to replace her make-up. While she was in he was alone with Odd, who'd also been enjoying the game from the stands.

"Well played, dude. Well played."

William nodded, "Thanks, but I didn't do it alone." The two did a fist-pound before sitting up on a wall to watch the clouds pass. After a while William grew tired of the silence.

"Hey, Odd," he asked, "how come you don't have someone?"

Odd laughed, "Are you kidding me? I've have so many 'ones' that I've completely lost count."

William raised an eyebrow, "So where's your 'one' now?"

Odd's face deflated, "Uh...still working on it, I guess..."

William sighed, "Odd, don't get me wrong – girls are fun, but eventually aren't you gonna want more than just...fun?"

Odd chuckled, "Oh, you mean like Sissi? I know that can't be fun."

William laughed too, but tried to remain serious, "Don't underestimate her. She's...unique, no denying that, but there _is_ something there inside and...well...that's what I'm in love with."

Odd scoffed, "Don't start getting mushy on me, you're supposed to be the tough guy, remember?" he sighed, "You know how they say there's always more fish in the sea, Will? My problem is that we live in a pond."

"So?"

"So...there's no one left!"

"Maybe no one that's interested in 'chauvinist, cheating pig' Odd. But 'heroic, caring, softy' Odd might have a shot."

Odd frowned, "...but I hate that Odd! Besides, where do I start?"

William thought for a moment, "In all your break-ups, you've probably gotten slapped, right?"

"Yes, yes I have."

"Which one seemed to hurt the most?"

Odd pondered it over, "Well, one was a gymnast; she really knew how to throw a punch."

William rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean, Odd. Who did you regret leaving the most, do you know?"

He didn't have to think about it long, one name sprung to mind. "Yes." he sighed.

"Then give her a call," said Will, patting him on the back, "apologize your guts out and see where it goes from there." William hopped off the wall and went to wait for Sissi, leaving Odd with his thoughts. Odd wasn't really sure if trying to be 'sweet, sensitive and humble' was the right angle, but it couldn't hurt, could it? Besides, it was a new age for all of them, why ring it in alone? He took out his cell phones and checked through his numbers list. She'd probably deleted him by now but he still kept all of his old ex's numbers, just in case they ever wanted to come crawling back (they never did). He took a deep breath and dialed. Compared to apologizing, saving the world was easy.

-

Jeremy was sitting in the operations room watching the news on the computer monitors of a mysterious strain of sudden deaths that was occurring in their town, and would soon occur as well in North America. Return trips did not bring back the dead, but at least they had undone the destruction they'd caused in Arlington, specifically the complete destruction of the Pentagon. Everyone who died during the battle (mostly soldiers with just a few unfortunate civilians mixed in) would have no memory of what happened and would go on with their day just as they would have normally...up until he second they died during the erased day. At that moment, regardless of wherever they were, those people would suddenly be struck with fatal brain aneurysms. Jeremy had always wondered why exactly this happened. After all in fiction time travel seemed to be the ONE thing that could bring people back from the dead. It would seem that in real life time travel didn't make things quite so easy. Perhaps they'd chalk up the deaths to genetics, a bizarre natural event, or at the very worst a biological terrorist attack. But in any case they would all end in 24 hours, and Jeremy figured any hypothesis the Americans could come up with from a very sudden deaths wouldn't be anywhere near as globally devastating as the Pentagon being destroyed by a dark winged super demon and some teenage kids.

The lift door opened and Aelita walked out to join him.

"How are they are they taking it?" she asked, Jeremy sighed.

"About as well as could be expected. I've calculated the repercussions and I'm still certain that a return trip was the right thing to down. Especially since it means no one ever sees us this way; there's no possibility of the incident being traced back to France." Aelita leaned on his chair and looked at all the news screens,

"So what happens now?"

"I've decided not to shut down the supercomputer. Now that X.A.N.A is gone I believe that, in time, I might be able to dissect the workings of it enough create some very beneficial technological advances for mankind. We've seen what it's capable of, now that it's all over maybe we can finally use it to do some good." Jeremy set the computer to do a cycle of sweeps across the Internet to scan and destroy any suspicious new viruses that arose. There was no point in taking any chances. Still, the program wouldn't be _too_ strict, after all if _every _virus designer's work suddenly vanished without causing so much as one crash someone somewhere would get suspicious. But for the most part the Internet would be a much safer place for the next few years.

"One last question," she asked, "what exactly did you do to X.A.N.A? What was in that program you wrote that destroyed him?"

Jeremy smiled, "Actually, he destroyed himself. You see, he program contained a vast amount of human information; literally everything I could get my hands on. What I realized was that if being human was a weakness for us (at times) it must be the same for him! Just like a computer, the human brain can be worn out - you an only push it so far. With the information I gave him, X.A.N.A tried to storm through millienia of human history, all the while analyzing it to find his 'answer'. Considering he only had half a rotting brain left, it didn't make much it blow it to hell."

Aelita frowned, "So that's it? You just kinda overloaded him?"

Jeremy nodded, "Yeah."

"That's kinda lame, Jeremy."

Jeremy scoffed, "Well it WORKED, didn't it?"

A moment later they both burst out laughing. Aelita hit the lights and and Jeremy took her hand. The program was running; they could leave the factory behind...at least for the day.

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_Thank you for reading Code: Crisis - episode 14 "Long Shot", please leave a __**review**_.

**Next episode: "Shadows"**


	15. Shadows

C o d e - C r I s I s

**Episode 15**

_SHADOWS_

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**_15 years later_**

Aelita sat on the beach, the waters just reaching her toes before rolling back out to sea. The sun was setting beautifully as always; its pastel watercolor pinks, oranges and deep reds reflected gloriously on the water beneath. Of all the places she'd been over the years this was still her favorite by far, and sometimes she's spend hours here watching the waves toss around scuttling crabs and listening to the tide roll in and out. From behind she heard footsteps, and turned to see a familiar little girl stand behind her also enjoying the sunset...as well as a chocolate candy bar. Aelita smiled, but quickly turned serious when the children knew she was being watched.

"Antea Frances Belpois," she scolded, trying hard to sound much more angry than she really was, "you know it won't even be thirty minutes before you're chowing down on birthday cake. Why are you spoiling it for yourself?"

Little Antea blushed and quickly wrapped the chocolate, "Sorry, Mom. Just nervous, I guess."

"About what? Everyone's got to turn 10 sometime..."

"Yeah, but Dad wants me to play the piano in front of everybody!" she moaned. Aelita smiled again and gestured for Antea to come and sit down by her side.

"...That's because you're so good at it! I know it's scary preforming in front of all your friends..."

Antea huffed, "You mean _your _friends: the Sterns and the Dunbars."

"What about Uncle Odd? You know how much fun you two had when you were little, and aren't you and Iris best friends?"

Antea chuckled, "Yeah, she's as crazy as he is...I know this is going to sound mean but...I hope her mom doesn't come."

Aelita nodded sadly, things were always awkward for everybody when Odd's ex-wife joined in. She wasn't unpleasant, she just really didn't like Odd's outings with their daughter, often telling everyone (loudly) how irresponsible and reckless he was. She didn't approve of his occupation either, which was strange considering it was how they met. After college, Jeremy and Aelita started a computer software company, the flagship product of which was a revolutionary new operating system that was run through a personal AI construct they named 'Maya' (after Aelita's old name). Jeremy was never able to duplicate the supercomputer's technology, but he didn't have to; what he and Aelita ended up coming up with was still light years ahead of all the other computers on the market. In just a few short years they became multi-millionaires, and wasted no time spreading their good fortune around.

They gave Odd the capital to start his own chain of dance clubs ('The 5th Sector') which quickly became popular and rocketed him into pop media stardom. At his first club he hired an old flame to be his star D.J and they soon rekindled their junior-high romance and married. It was a bit impulsive...but so was Odd. Sadly it didn't last, as eventually she became less of a rebel and lost interest in all the glitz, while Odd only continued to become more outrageous with each passing day. His daughter became Iris Knight after he lost the custody hearing, but fortunately the arrangements were lenient enough to give Odd more than enough time to spend with his girl (and try to prove to his ex that he was grown up enough for the two of them).

Yumi and Ulrich started a martial arts dojo with their share. Together they taught some of the most unique and devastating techniques the world had even seen, and soon gained many dedicated students - the best of all being their son, Rei.

Much to everyone's surprise, William and Sissi ended up with a pretty normal life. Will borrowed just enough money to get through college, then graduated in computer engineering and started working for Jeremy. Sissi stayed at home, her hands more than full with the twins: the eggheaded (and arrogant) Tina, and her quiet (but clever) goth brother Tony.

Other than Iris, Antea didn't seem to get along very well with the other kids. Antea was the daughter of two geniuses, but always took a much more artistic route in school and ended up with just average grades overall. Often she felt intimidated by Tina's zeal for academics (as was Sissi) and stayed away for fear she'd say something else to make herself look stupid, and Tony was just scary to be around. As for Rei, she actually kind of liked him...but was far too timid to do anything more than stutter nervously when she got near him. She didn't know it, but Rei was actually a little infatuated with her as well, but met with the same problem. Aelita knew this, of course, but was having too much fun watching her own childhood play out through the two of them to interfere. Besides, they were only 10; Rei was a sweet boy, but who says they needed to date?

Other than Odd's daughter, Antea's only other friend was Maya, Jeremy's AI construct that ran his computers' operating systems. While the consumers knew and treated her just like a friendly face (which was all she'd be for them), in the Belpois household Maya was much more: A personality composite of both Aelita and himself, Maya was like a 2nd, older daughter. In fact, when they were both out, Maya would often be put around the home as a Spectre to babysit the kids. Only Aelita, Jeremy, Antea, and the other parents knew what she really was (Iris knew too, but that was her and Antea's secret), but it wasn't awkward at all. She was a great person, a great help, and she seemed to get more and more human every day...

Aelita still hadn't answered her daughter's question, though. Antea mock-coughed for attention and snapped her mother back into reality.

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear. You know how I get sometimes..." she smiled, holding Antea close, "you can't be afraid to show people what makes you...you! I'm sure everyone will love hearing you play, you really are fantastic at it."

Antea looked up at her and smiled, but then it slowly turned into a frown.

"I wish you could come, too." she sighed. Now Aelita frowned as well.

"I know," she whispered, kissing Antea on the forehead, "but how about after it's all over, you come back here and play for me? Just the two of us? And we can pig out on chocolate until bedtime!" They both laughed loudly and Antea squeezed her tight.

"That'd be just perfect, Mom."

From behind they heard the sound of a door closing, and out of a beautiful white beach house walked Jeremy, dressed in a light work shirt and jeans. From humble beginnings he had become a very dashing adult. Well shaved, but just enough stubble left to looked 'rugged', and he let his hair grow out a bit longer...but still kept well cut so as to stay out of his face while typing. He never did switch to contact lenses, though, just too many scary scenarios would pop into his head whenever he considering trying on a pair. He didn't fill out as well as Ulrich or William, but was still trim and fit, and much more athletic than he used to be, even though he wasn't saving the world.

"Well if it isn't my two favorite girls in the world!" he opened his arms and Antea ran into them, even now he could still pick her up and take her for a quick spin. A quick hug and her put her down with a kiss. "Yumi and Ulrich are here," he told Aelita, "they said the others shouldn't be to far behind them...are you sure you don't want to...?"

"Jeremy..." said Aelita quickly, gesturing lightly towards Antea. Jeremy nodded.

"Hey, go ahead and help Maya welcome everybody, okay? I'll be there soon." he gave her another quick kiss before sending her off towards the house, then he went and sat down next to Aelita. Before she reached the steps to the front door, Antea stopped and looked at her parents a last time. She really hoped Dad could convince her to come this time, but maybe it just wasn't in the cards. With a deep sigh she turned away from the steps and just started wandering the beach; it didn't matter where she went, after all.

"Code: Home." she sighed, and she blew away in a mist of blue data.

For a time Jeremy had been content with the solution that Franz Hopper wanted to escape to Lyoko in order to guarantee never being found by his pursuers, even though it would end up meaning his daughter would never really 'grow up' (at least until he felt the coast was clear), and that she would spend her entire young life in a world with only half the normal sensory stimulations. It wasn't until 3 years after Antea was born that they discovered the real truth behind Hopper's drastic decision, as well as the true nature of the file he'd been reading during Jeremy's flashbacks in X.A.N.A memories.

Franz Hopper had a terminal disease.

There had only been a slim chance for him to have inherited it from his own father, but soon he learned that it had in fact been passed on to him and would cut decades off his life at the very least. The rest was only theoretical, but they presumed Franz intended to use Lyoko like a much, much safer version of cryogenic stasis, where they would stay inside until hopefully a cure would be found. Franz would get to be with and raise his daughter, and hopefully she'd never have to know about her condition. But of course things didn't turn out that way at all.

While Jeremy was never able to duplicate the science of the supercomputer exactly, he did come close enough to create Aelita her own virtual world. But the Beach House world was Aelita's to change and alter as she pleased far more liberally than she ever could on Lyoko. By using satellites (which Jeremy's company soon owned plenty of) she could go anywhere in the world as a Spectre, joining her would often be Jeremy and Antea. Her disguised name was Taelia, and together they'd have wonderfully exotic vacations far from home. Even though Aelita's appearance would be altered so as not to raise suspicion (officially she had died in a car accident a year after she was diagnosed), they could never appear to close to home, so as not to get too many questions asked. The others knew the truth, of course, and would often come to the Beach House (leaving their kids with Maya) to visit Aelita often. This was their special time together; Antea didn't even tell _Iris_ this secret.

Though medical science had come much farther than Hopper's time (in no small part due to generous donations from Jeremy's company), there was nothing they could offer that did anything more than merely slow Aelita's condition. Online she was completely free of age, and her physical condition would never weaken from the disease, so that's where she stayed. They'd all lived happily like this for years, but so far had simply ignored all of the obvious questions, which Jeremy would never cease to bring up when they were alone.

"It's getting harder to spin her around every year," he smiled, "you're lucky, you could throw her over a building whenever you want."

"...Jeremy, please. What do you want me to do? Of course, I'd love to be out there with her...and _you_, but every hour I do...it's just better this way."

There was a long silence between them.

"...Besides," she joked, "now I can keep the grandkids in line."

Jeremy laughed, "Sure, but just wait until generation three or four, eventually they're just gonna turn you off!"

Aelita charged an energy field and grinned, "Let 'em try."

Jeremy and Aelita stood up, stretched, and kissed. Jeremy let her hands slip out of his as he walked away towards the house.

"We'll save you some cake." he grinned. "Code: Home." And like Antea he was gone with the wind. Aelita was was left alone with only the beach and the sunset for company, but she was by no means lonely. Even though she could only enter their world as a Spectre they never made her feel like any less of a person. She had a good life, and so would they. After all, she'd be right there to make sure of it for the rest of their lives. Even if she couldn't be cured before they grew old, she would carry their love with her and pass it on to Antea's children, and their children. Not to mention how much trouble she'd probably have to bail Odd's kids out of down the line. Yep, 'lonely' couldn't have been further from the truth; her schedule was going to be packed, and right now all she felt like doing was to go for a walk. She looked out to sea as the waves curled over her toes and admired the sunset. Then decided with a grin that while it was certainly a lovely afternoon for a walk...it might make a better _night _instead.

She raised her hand towards the sun and her entire body started to glow bright pink. As she started to sing the sun appeared to cool down, almost as if it were dying. It slowly turned from a gentle yellow to black, to white, and in just a few seconds the sun had become the biggest full moon you'd ever seen. The sky went from sunset colors to a divine twilight, filling from end to end with vibrant constellations and shooting stars. Clouds peeked in from the left and right just enough for effect, until a picture perfect night sky was completed - courtesy of Creativity. With a satisfying smile Aelita walked out into the water...or rather _on _the water, and started walking straight towards the horizon, her aura wafting behind her with each step. _One day I'll have to show Antea how to do this_, she reminded herself as another legion of shooting stars was summoned by a wave of her hand, _maybe for her **next **birthday._ She smiled broadly.

It was a beautiful night for a stroll.

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_Thank you for reading __**Code: Crisis**__ - Please leave a __**Review.**_

**The End  
**


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